Not A Funny Joke

*****************WARNING I'M ON MY SOAP BOX*****************

I read this joke online today that was so sick. Right now, even as I think about it, my stomach feels upset and the thought that someone could even find it funny. The joke was on a popular website but there was no way to report it as inappropriate. I will not share it with you; but the gist of it was a girl (AS IN A CHILD) getting sexually abused by her father. How can someone find that funny?!? Why would someone even want to share that?!? The thing that I get enraged about the most is because this is something that happens and is horrible, and and the person was making a joke out of it. Sexual abuse ruins lives. Those involved many times don't/CAN'T have normal relationships. They many times turn to drugs/alcohol. Can end up with a horrible STD. I could not even attempt to put up all the consequences of sexual abuse in children, there are many more physical and psychological devastating problems.

"... When a child is sexually abused, his innocence is stolen. Many sexual abuse survivors are ashamed to have already lost their virginity before they even knew what a virgin was. Sexual abuse survivors are deprived of the beauty of the innocent first kiss or first sexual experience. These are losses that need to be grieved".... http://www.ehow.com/how_2131979_loss-innocence-after-sexual-abuse.html?ref=fuel

It is the most disgusting thought of someone who is meant to protect you decides to feed there own physical wants. If anyone touches my niece, nephew, little sisters or future children I will... (I decided that it was not appropriate to put here) go to jail if I need to in order to protect these little ones. But sadly many children don't report it for fear of disappointing parents, or the perpetrator makes threats to hurt the child or family.

Here are some facts:
*One U.S. governmental source counts 78,188 child victims of sexual abuse in 2003. That’s a
rate of 1.2 per 1,000 American children. (That seems like a VERY high number to me)
*The 2001 National Crime Victimization Survey, which only covers youth 12-17, estimates
that 1.9 per 1,000 children are raped or sexually assaulted.
*National surveys of adults find that 9-28% of women say they experienced some type of
sexual abuse or assault in childhood.
All these estimates and others that are available have limitations and should be used with care.
http://www.unh.edu/ccrc/factsheet/pdf/CSA-FS20.pdf
You may ask who does these horrible things, well here's what the website above says on that:
*Men perpetrate most sexual abuse and sex crimes.
*Sex offenders against children tend to be juveniles or young adults under the age of 30.
*Most sexual abuse and sex crimes are committed by people who know the victims.
Acquaintances are most often the perpetrators, followed by family members and then
strangers.

How to protect a child from sexual abuse?
Well I can't put it all here see this website for a complete list: http://www.apa.org/releases/sexabuse/protect.html . Here are a few points to keep in mind. 1) Develop strong communication skills with your children.
2) Make an effort to know children's friends and their families.
3) Teach your children that their bodies are their own. That it is OK to say they do not want a hug or that certain kinds of contact make them uncomfortable.

Another source you may want to look at is the Megan's Law website http://www.meganslaw.ca.gov . My previous residence there is a sexual predator right down the street, needless to say it's also RIGHT next to a school. Do you know who your neighbors are?

God sends us children, they bring an added amount of joy, teach us patience, and we find that we have a greater capacity to love. WE MUST PROTECT THEM.