Child Abuse and Mental Health Survivors Information - Issue #127
It always comes down to our willingness as a society.
I wrote on the blog this week about a veteran child exploitation task force member who talked about the one thing every underage victim of trafficking had in common, being vulnerable to manipulation due to a lack of something in their lives. (The link is below.) I’ve been thinking a lot about the different ways in which we, society as a whole, fail to do what is necessary for kids.
Things like cutting social programs that families need to get by. Or not providing supportive resources for LGBTQ kids, or kids with addiction issues.
As it turns out I came across another article where this same issue plays out with whether mental health professionals are available in schools.
Thank you for reading the Child Abuse and Mental Health Survivors newsletter. Each week, I share new blog posts and other resources that aim to help survivors of childhood abuse and those who are struggling with mental health issues feel less alone as we discuss the issues surrounding our issues.
For more information about me and why this newsletter exists visit the website - Child Abuse Survivor.
Why Schools Still Struggle to Provide Enough Mental Health Resources for Students
Again, we hear a lot of the same arguments. “I don’t want my taxes to go up.” “I don’t want the school to treat my kid so I don’t want it available to anyone.”, etc. Instead of thinking about what we can do to prevent having vulnerable children likely to be groomed, abused, and trafficked, we worry about our own needs.
Look, I understand a lot of people don’t have the means to pay a bunch more in taxes. There are, however, some people who have the capacity to pay a lot more in taxes. We just don’t make them, for some reason. The article ends though with the reality of school funding. Some districts will have plenty of money, and great resources, while others won’t. Similar to the way some schools have a natatorium while others don’t even have a gym. We want the best for our kids and kids like them but we don’t care enough to make sure kids from other neighborhoods, or kids who aren’t like our kids, or parents who aren’t like us, have what they need.
That’s how we end up with vulnerable kids, failing them over and over again. Are we willing to change things for every kid?
New from the Blogs
The Truth About Trafficking From A 20-year Veteran of the Child Exploitation Task Force
I think she's right about that last point. I've written many times about the stories I hear, over and over again, where people don't want to hear about child abuse and sexual abuse. It's too sad and dirty. It isn't very pleasant. People don't want to know about how much sex trafficking goes on right around us every day and the hard work we could do to solve the problem. They'd rather believe conspiracy theories and look to their "heroes," who are nothing but con artists, to fix it for them by going on rescue missions or attacking the "elites" who are supposedly controlling all sex trafficking around the world. That seems simpler than solving the problems that make kids vulnerable to trafficking: poverty, abuse, racism, a lack of support for kids transitioning out of foster care, or LGBTQ kids whom their own families do not accept.
Those are real problems that create vulnerable kids who go on to become real victims. Fixing them will require hard work and resources from all of us.
Sharing - Know Your Partner's Trauma
Once I was public about my abuse, it became obvious to me that anyone I was going to be involved with romantically probably needed to know about my past sooner rather than later. Maybe not all the details upfront, but the fact that I am a survivor usually came out early. There was no reason not to share that information with someone who I was going to be in a romantic relationship with because that trauma impacted so many little things about me and how I acted in that relationship.
Unpopular Opinion, The Kids Online Safety Act is Going to Harm More Kids than it Protects
I get it. The people who write these laws live in a world where kids all have a loving family who cares about them and want only to protect them from the evil that exists "out there." They will provide whatever help and information their kids need, and there's no need for them to navigate the wildness of the internet. But we make information available to kids online because that's not their reality. They don't have supportive parents, they get kicked out for being gay, they are being abused at home, they are dealing with mental health issues their parents refuse to acknowledge, and they are often alone in trying to get help.
Shared from Elsewhere
There’s a lot that needs to be done. Let’s be honest. - Why Care for the Mentally Ill is a Mess and What Needs to be Done.
We talk about connection and friendship often, so it’s only fair that I share this - How to Actually Make Friends as an Adult IRL.
Speaking of friends - Don’t Forget to Check Up on Your Quiet Friends.
This is an important reminder for anyone trying to support someone - How To Look After Your Own Mental Health When Helping Others.
It’s always better to be kind, for yourself too. - Why Is Kindness Important & What Are Its Benefits?
From the Archives
Young Sheldon Cooper on How to Be Supportive
“Turns out listening is easy, just sit there, and when you want to leave, don’t.”
Blaming the Victim or Soothing Our Own Anxiety?
If we can find something, anything, that makes a victim of a horrible crime somehow different from us, then we can maybe convince ourselves that the world is still a safe place, as long as you don’t do what they did.
Please Talk to Your Kids Before Someone Else Does
No matter how you might feel about porn, I think we can all agree that it is not supposed to be a reflection of reality. It’s all fake. It’s unrealistic on purpose. Yet, teenagers in the US are turning there to learn about how to be sexually in the real world because no one else will talk to them about it.
Thanks for reading. If you find this newsletter informative and helpful to you, spread the word. That’s the best way you can say thank you for the effort I put in each week.
I follow this as a trafficking victim, and it always hits home. People don’t want to hear it, they don’t want to talk about it. The reality that countless children face is so unthinkable to them that they don’t want to stop it. And it stings so bad.