Sexual Abuse: Here's Why My Friend Never Leaves Her Kids Alone With Her New Partner by Ikram M.

A friend of mine remarried last year. As she had two children from a previous marriage, she vowed to never leave her now 12-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter alone with their stepfather.

Although her decision may seem extreme or even paranoid to many, I couldn’t agree with her more. After all, sexual abuse is the fastest growing form of child abuse. 

In the 2010 U.S. Fourth National Incidence Study of Abuse and Neglect, it was found that a child is 20 times more likely to be sexually abused by his mother’s partner than in a two-biological-parent family. Statistics from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also show that 30 percent of stepfathers and 20 percent of the boyfriends are charged with sexual abuse. Keep in mind that these statistics only show those that were persecuted. In another words, there are many more who are committing these awful crimes without anyone’s knowledge.

No mother can or should be blamed if their child is sexually abused by their partner. But as a mother, you can close all doors of possibility for that to happen.

What do you think?