Things You Should Know About Child Molester

Things You Should Know About Child Molester

Child molestation can be committed by parents, family members, family friends or anybody. Many of those who commit the crimes are teenagers themselves.In some cases, the child or teen was an active participant in their own abuse. This can often be confusing. Many people think that if one is molested, the molester must have forced himself on his victim. Many times, that is true, but not always.

First of all, remember that victims are psychologically manipulated before being victimized. Second of all, people under the age of 18 cannot give legal consent to sex with an adult for a good reason, in the eyes of the law they are not old enough to understand the consequences and implications of that consent. This is true. Teenagers may like to think they know everything and that they know exactly what they want in life, but as many adults know, one’s teen years are fraught with confusion, uncertainty and awkwardness. A victim that acquiesces to a molester is no less a victim. 

There tends to be lighter punishments given to those who molest teenagers as opposed to those who molest younger children. This inherently places some of the blame for the crime on the victim. Ever since the days of “say no, yell and tell” children and teens have been given the responsibility of protecting themselves rather than being protected. Of course, parents do want to protect their kids, and as children mature, they do have to learn how to protect themselves. However, in cases like this, a teenage victim is deceived and manipulated to feel helpless and guilty. This softer punishment for a molester can only add to the feeling of guilt. The victim is left to say “It’s my own fault this happened to me”  We as a society need to take a second look at how we treat the older victims of child molestation.