Tips on safeguarding your children, wards from sexual predators

By Juliana Francis

School vacation periods are the highest period when children and young adults are targeted and sexually violated.

This means that although these children can be violated at any other time, the holiday periods, when they stay at home and go to other holiday activities are the most likely times, paedophiles, sex perverts and sexual predators swoop on them.

Naturally, parents and guardians cannot go about with them 24/7, because they have to work to bring home money for feeding, school fees and to pay the bills.

These parents and guardians, however, can and should know some preventive measures.

A Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Mr Monday Agbonika, who has worked closely with the Lagos and Ogun states governments on domestic and sexual violence, has some preventive tips for parents and guardians.

They are listed below:

1. Give them sexual education.
2. If they are very young like 10 years old or less, let them know about their personal body parts
3. Always chat with them
4. Making them feel free to confide anything in you
5. Parents should discourage jokes of anyone from using their girl-child to joke. For instance, a male neighbour or friend calling your little ” my wife”
6. Don’t allow familiar men or strangers, to place your girl children on their laps
7. Children should avoid taking drinks and food outside the home or without parental approval
8. They should not leave drinks unsupervised and then return to drink it
9. Censor children’s internet activities
10. They should not visit residences, hotel rooms, and private premises without a trusted companion
11. Friends can be part of a conspiracy to rape/defilement
12. Minor abuses should be seriously challenged to make a point. Like intentionally touching breasts or buttocks etc.
13. Avoid taking rides with strangers in their vehicles or empty commercial buses, etc
14. Avoiding dark streets, alleyways
15. Avoid going to public toilets alone
16. Avoid online or social media dating
17. Avoid leaving your female children with men friends or neighbours to mind
18. The same goes for the male-children
19. Advise defensive dressing when going to a suspicious environment like tight jeans, bumper shots under clothes, jeans with buttons rather than zipper etc.