Thursday, September 15, 2011

Sex and Manslaughter

A child of say 12 years old accidentally shoots and kills a friend wile they are playing with a gun that an adult made it possible for them to find and did not provide supervision for their activities.  The child is charged, brought to court, interviewed, found to be responsible to some extent and is sentenced to  probation.  Fair enough----he's old enough to be held responsible for careless behavior that causes someone's death.  But a child of the same age, or older, who is caught up in sexual misconduct with an adult, even though sometimes only a few years older, is advised that he or she has been preyed upon, and is never to feel guilty for any part of the misbehavior.  The child may have deliberately and consciously gone against what the  parents have taught and expect, have knowingly broken the rules of household and society, yet is told he or she is completely blame-free.  Sexual exploitation of a child is always the fault of the adult.   Of course.  But shouldn't children who disobey, break the rules, and cause a problem or a tragedy be taught that they are to some extent responsible for their wrong-doing, and not given  a free pass for dangerous behavior just because the subject was sexual in nature.  Assigning responsibility could  be a life-saver in some instances.

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