Dealing with Abuse
September 17, 2018
Girls often endure abuse in relationships with boys, and sadly most of them do not recognize that they are in abusive relationships, and this trend carries on into marriage later in life. It is very important for girls to have healthy relationships. They must know how to handle themselves in the presence of boys and young men. Healthy relationships are very key for every growing youth.
We define a healthy relationship as one that comes from respect, mutual understanding, trust, and honesty. A relationship should consist of healthy boundaries that are established and respected by both partners equally. A good partner will accept you as you are, support your personal choices, and praise you for your achievements. A healthy relationship also allows both partners to maintain outside interests and friendships and does not hinder the personal freedom of either partner.
Abuse comes in many forms. In the form of physical abuse, one uses physical force to inflict injury to another. Examples are hitting, biting, chocking or pushing. The use of weapons is also a form of physical abuse
Other forms of abuse include emotional abuse, sexual abuse, digital abuse, and stalking amongst others. Girls must be very careful when they start dating to avoid suffering some or any of the abuses, generally suffered in silence.
This was some of the discussion we had at Shiners School when I met the girls this past Saturday on the 15th. Most of these girls are dating, and so it is important that they know how to manage their relationships and how to keep healthy boundaries. It was a very interactive class; this kind of topic is very exciting for group discussion and the girls really ask a lot of questions. We had two hours of discussion. We touched on sexual health which is very key at this stage of their lives. The girls need to know that engaging in risky sexual behavior may well result in unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted disease.
When a girl gets pregnant her life changes drastically, while the boy continues with his life like normal. The girl will drop out of school and, even if she is to resume later, she will have lost a lot of precious time. The boys usually do not want anything to do with the girl after she has fallen pregnant; they deny the pregnancy and the girl is left to suffer the consequences alone. Danger of death while trying to procure abortions is very real. We agreed that this is not an option unless the situation calls for a medical emergency.
We have two more lessons to cover with our Choice Club members. Afterwards, we will hold the graduation ceremony before school closes on the 26th of Oct.