Dickson Tumuramye
During the two years of the COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdown in Uganda, the rate of teenage pregnancy was alarmingly high.
These teenage girls were staying home with their parents, siblings and relatives where one would expect them to be safe, but this was not the case.
There are also many cases of children being initiated into sexual intercourse by their peers at school, as well as high chances of incest. When you interact with some of these children, they say they were given incentives that lured them and that they were promised many other good things if they did not tell their parents.
As you send your children for holiday coaching, music, and soccer training, these things can happen.
We all know that most young children trust their elders, especially their teachers/trainers and so they believe them 100%. Your child starts getting lured by empty promises.
After all, their parents have never talked about such issues of sexuality at home. They do not know the dangers of what they are involved in.
Others have seen their parents change partners when one of the parents is not around and this seems normal. Some parents no longer have the moral authority to rebuke their children.
You need to know that most children are threatened by their perpetrators that if they mention it anywhere, they will kill them. A child suffers from psychological and physical pain because they fear death.
They also have tough parents and are afraid of being punished if they report. They, therefore, decide to die with shame and pain. This deteriorates their life, wellbeing and affects their self-esteem, academic performance, and social interaction because they consider everyone a threat. Unfortunately, they do not know how to reveal it to anyone.
Topics on sexuality should be taught to your children according to their age and using age-appropriate language. This should not wait until there is a crisis. Now is the time to let your children know that there are perpetrators who are like snares looking forward to trapping them into evil things.
Always ask them what they experience in their surroundings; at home, in the community, at school, and even at church. Be inquisitive to know if there are people who advance sexual requests and how they should handle them. Every child is vulnerable to these vultures, do not shy away from alerting your children regardless of age.
The Bible says: “Be very careful, then, how you live, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”
Anyone can rape your child of any age and most of the children are naïve because they do not have information about how it starts and they are not empowered on how to overcome it.
Do not think it is too early to talk to your children about sexuality. The time is now.
RECOMMENDED TOPICS
Talking about sexuality with your children is not only about telling them about sexual intercourse, but also who they are as human beings, that is, their being male or female.
Sex or sexuality education is about high-quality teaching and learning about a broad variety of topics related to sex and sexuality. These include body changes, growth into teenage/ adolescence age, relationships, personal hygiene, reproductive health and rights, life skills, marriage, and many others.
The writer is a child advocate and parenting coach
