“In 2018, there were 60,651 child and youth victims (aged 17 and younger) of police-reported [family] violence in Canada. Of these victims, 57% were female and 43% were male.”
When I read this fact, it makes me reconsider how I treat children of different genders. A large portion of the male population is still affected by family violence. Do I let gender impact how protective I am over a child? I do and it has to change. I am often softer with girls as I assume that they must be handled with more care than boys. Safe spaces are often fostered for women to talk about their emotions. I have been able to process any life-impacting circumstances openly because our culture is accepting of women expressing their emotions and revealing their deepest fears. I personally have a great fear of losing those closest to my heart. Today, please ask yourself, are you creating that safe space for men as well? When a little boy cries, do you scold him for being too sensitive? These are things that I’ve grown up seeing and it’s been normalized in our society. In Canada, statistics show that a “larger proportion of sexual offence incidents remained not cleared for male victims of family violence than for their female counterparts (49% versus 43%)”. This is troubling as it creates more stress for male victims of sexual offences who want to speak up and find justice. When we create programs to help children and/or watch out for the safety of children, let’s be mindful that both genders are vulnerable. We’re responsible for raising both boys and girls. It takes a village to raise children of all genders. Let’s be better and advocate for BOTH our girls and boys. References: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2019001/article/00018/01-eng.htm
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September 2020
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