A story was shared some years ago, a story we all must have heard or witnessed something similar to.
Let me share the story as copied…
A mother asked to use her fifteen year old daughter’s phone for some days while her own phone was being repaired. WhatsApp messages dropped on the phone. Her daughter passworded her WhatsApp so she couldn’t see the messages. Out of curiosity, she tried some passwords and her daughter’s birthday was the password. She opened the WhatsApp and almost died. A man in the next building had been chatting with her daughter. He made several sexual advances towards her which the daughter refused. He was adamant. He pursued her. He sent her recharge cards, came to her school to give her gifts and money. He asked her if she had a boyfriend or have ever had s.e.x, she said no. He pursued her some more.
He requested for her pictures almost unclad which she initially refused to send him but when he sent his, she sent hers. It was nothing too revealing as she was in her bra and underwear. He taught her how to password her WhatsApp.
Then he pushed for more. He wanted to see her completely nude. She couldn’t take such a picture because she shared a room with her siblings. He asked her to lock herself in the bathroom for them to have a video call. She saw messages like “Did you like what you saw?” “ Stop being shy around me.” “Why are you afraid? Nobody will see you.” He sent a picture of his nudity to her. A girl of fifteen.
It became terrifying when her daughter sent a chat saying she saw him with his wife the other night and he ignored her. She knew her daughter had fallen and it was a matter of time before the guy had his way.
LETS TALK
Stories like this are very common these days. Just last week, a video went viral about a young high school girl who was drugged by her male teacher and taken advantage of in a hotel room. The teacher was caught and the girl said she did not know how she got to the hotel room, that she woke up and saw herself naked.
The first thing I wrote when the video was forwarded to me was…”careless parents”. The poster asked me why and I gave her many reasons why I stated so.
- the incidence happened after school. Teachers know their pupils and the kind of parents each pupil has. They know the active and passive ones, careless and careful ones, tolerant and non tolerant ones, rigid and flexible ones, learned and illiterate ones, religious and non religious ones etc. Any teacher that plots an act as gruesome as rape must have considered these and the victims are usually pupils that have careless parents.
- some parents employ a male teacher as lesson teacher, private driver, house keeper, security person for their young female child. They care less about the places they go together, things they do together and when they stay alone together.
- The life of every school child is regulated by a school calendar; time to be in school and time to be out of school. Some parents don’t ask their children whenever they’re late to school or late back from school to know the cause of their lateness. They’re hardly at home or would make effort to call and enquire the whereabout of their children when they’re late.
- Most parents don’t advise their children especially when they have reached that critical stage in life, the age of puberty where they exhibit lots of youthful exuberances. They don’t make their children their friends rather they scare them with very strict rules, they don’t monitor the movement of their children, the friends they keep and they don’t pay attention to changes in the lives of their children.
- Most parents fail to educate their children about peer pressure, the causes, consequences and how to overcome it. This is a compulsory stage in every child’s life, they should be prepared for it emotionally, physically and psychologically.
We live in a sick society where older men groom very young girls and turn them into sex slaves. It is quite prevalent today and it gets worse by the day.
Do you check that phone your child carry along all the time? Are you sure he or she is not being groomed for someone’s perversion? Do you monitor some moves they make? Do you make out time to have a one on one chat with them? Do you monitor their social media activities and make restrictions if they are below 18 years? Family Link is the best App to monitor, restrict and limit your child’s activities on android phones.
Your children are your treasure. Guard them jealousyly with all you’ve got. Make out time for them. Pedophiles are fast evolving and they are getting smarter. You must keep your children safe at all cost. They are your top priority and your responsibility.
Observe them or regret it!
Amara Ann Unachukwu
