les are normally badly beaten or killed in prison due to the nature of their crime. Even thieves receive better treatment than a pedophile would in the “big house.”Just like you would lock your house to protect it from thieves, parents must know how to reduce the risk of their children from falling prey to those that seek to exploit them. Some common factors that link sexual victims are the lack of parental guidance, support, and control. When these are not present in the family life, the child can easily stray into staying out all night, skipping school, and becoming sexually active (Epstein and De Valle). In supportive family situations, openness between parents and children should be established as soon as they are able to comprehend the fact that you are there for them in any situation that doesn’t feel right. This will give the child the ability to stop and consult parents about an uncomfortable situation before the perpetrator can stake his claim. Another preventive measure is telling your children that respect doesn’t mean blind obedience to adults and authority. The phrase “always do everything the teacher or baby-sitter tells you to do” should be discouraged due to the fact that they believe it will bring punishment upon them if they don’t do as you had told them (A.A.C.A.P.). Following these tips of prevention and encouraging professional prevention programs in the local school system will give your children the weapons to reduce the risk of pedophiles.Unfortunately, even with proper education and recognition, many children have still fallen prey to these vial predators of youth. Therefore, parents should be able to recognize signs of abuse and understand the different types of treatment used to help children cope with this ordeal. Only through quick detection and subsequent treatment can the abused child hope to overcome serious problems that might develop as the child becomes ...
