Teen Issues with Sexual Abuse: Scary New Accusations Against Michael Jackson
People who have never experienced childhood sexual abuse often have a false idea of how abuse occurs. They picture children being victimized by scary old men who hang out near parks and lure kids with candy.
They picture frightening predators sneaking in their children’s windows at night or following them home after school. While these scenarios do sometimes occur, children are most often molested and seduced by someone they know and trust. This makes the problem that much more frightening.
Leaving Neverland: New Accusations Against Michael Jackson
It’s been almost a decade since Michael Jackson died, but his potential abuse of children is still a hot topic. The famous singer and dancer was found not guilty on 14 counts of child abuse and molestation a few years prior to this death, but now, new accusations have been released. It’s all discussed in the popular documentary “Leaving Neverland”, which is available on HBO.
The accusers claim that Jackson molested them as children. The men said that they kept the secret to themselves because they had no understanding that what Jackson had done to them was abuse. They thought they were friends. James Safechuck, one of the accusers, said that even now, with Jackson long gone, and even with knowing logically that molestation is wrong, he still felt guilt discussing the abuse.
Low Teen Self-esteem and Grooming: How Abusers Take Advantage
The most frightening thing about child abusers is how they often aren’t frightening at all. They know how to cultivate love and trust with children and become their friends, grooming them to accept abuse and feel that it would be a betrayal to speak out about it. They often specifically target kids with low self-esteem.
As parents, we must be watchful of the people coming in and out of our children’s lives. Whether it’s a family member, a tutor, a volunteer worker, a church member or anyone else, it’s important to be cautious about allowing your child to be alone with another adult. We must also educate our children on what grooming and seduction looks like.
