As a parent, you want to protect your children to the best of your ability, but the fact that life is not perfect means you may not always be successful. You can do all you to can give them a good and healthy life, but you cannot control what others do. You cannot be with your child every minute of every day.
Hopefully, you will never need to locate a sex crimes attorney near me, but if you do need help, that would be one group you should contact. You will also want to locate a counselor or therapist for children that are experts in sexual assault trauma.
What Parents Should Do Immediately
If your child comes to you and says they were abused, you need to believe them above all else. Children do not lie about such a horrible event. Simply believing and trusting them will help them more than you will ever know.
Next, you need to make sure they are safe. Be sure that the person who abused them is not going to have access to them again. If you have to bring them to a relative or other safe place, do so.
You will also need to make sure they are not hurting. Take them to their doctor or hospital for a check-up and to collect any evidence that might be helpful in sending the person who abused them to prison. Last but not least, point them in the direction of a qualified sex crime lawyer who can help you and your family get through this together.
Talk With Your Child
It is important to speak with your child about what happened. Do not ignore it because children need to understand what happened and why. They need to know, from you, that it is not their fault. Children often believe they have more control over their lives and what happens than they actually do. This includes the good and the bad things that happen. There are different organizations and books that will help you speak to your child about what happened to them and how they can process the pain.
Take Care of Yourself
It is also important that you take care of yourself. You cannot care for someone else if you are falling apart. You should make an appointment with a therapist to help you deal with your own feelings about what happened. You may also want to find a good support group for parents of children who have been abused. The trauma of the incident is not only theirs, but yours as well.
Be There For Your Child
Along with believing your child about their experience, be there for them. It can be easy to retreat and become depressed, leaving your child alone, but resist that urge. This is also where a therapist for yourself will come into play.
You should also distance yourself from the person who abused your child. This is out of respect for your child. Showing your child that it is not acceptable for anyone to abuse them will go a long way in their development as an adult. This could be a hard thing to do, depending on who the individual is, but it is important.
Put your child’s care above your feelings is going to help the child with future difficulties. And you will feel better as a parent.
