Vocational School of Justice
WE NEED TO HEAR OUT CHILDREN
It has been reported that less than one fourth of children who are subject to sexual abuse go public regarding the molestation. Prof. Dr. Ayşen Baykara, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, pointed out the importance of parent-child communication, and she said, “It may take up to 10 years for children to come forward about the molestation. They share their secret with both or either of the parents they feel close to, or with a close friend. Parents have major duties. What we mean is the fact that mother trying to understand and guide the child appropriately when the child comes to the mother with a problem from an early age.”
Prof. Dr. Baykara delivered a seminar on “Child Abuse” to guidance teachers. Izmir University of Economics hosted the seminar that was organized by Konak Guidance and Research Center. Prof. Dr. Baykara stated that parents needed to listen to any problem their children bring to their attention carefully since abused small children might provide ambiguous explanations about what they experienced because they do not totally grasp what was happening to them as opposed to older children. Prof. Dr. Baykara indicated that children engaged in games in order to escape from their negative emotions, and games were an essential tool in therapy. Prof. Dr. Baykara said that children avoided coming forward about the abuse because they felt extreme shame, or they did not want to be labeled. “In domestic abuse cases, there is an adult who treats the child nice and gives presents to the child. The child is warned about not to share the secret with anyone else. Same situation goes for incest. The father singles out that child. Moreover, the damage is already done by the time the child understands what happened. The child continues to keep silent about the secret,” reported Prof. Dr. Baykara.
Prof. Dr. Baykara also mentioned that girls expressed themselves much better than the boys did, and she said that children sleeping between parents were also subject to abuse. Prof. Dr. Baykara said, “Children sleeping between parents are subject to sexual abuse regardless of their age. This is detrimental to their development. Parents should be careful about this”.