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Date rape is a real issue that teenagers should be aware of. Teenagers are just beginning to date and many teens may have difficulty catching the signs of a date gone wrong before it’s too late. Date rape can come in different forms. Touching someone sexually against their will can have an immense affect on a teenager’s self-image. Forced intercourse may be the most popularly known form of rape but the affects of a sexual touch or oral sex when it is not welcomed can have grave effects on an adolescent.
Date Rape Statistics
Sad to say, research has shown that by 18 years of age, at least one in every four teenage girls experience sexual assault. It may be shocking to know that in these cases almost ¾ of the teen girls are acquainted with the aggressor. Females may be more at risk of date rape than males but this does not mean that teenage boys are not at risk.
Don’t let your teen let his/her guard down
Your teen may let his/her guard down once he/she knows that he/she will be going out with someone familiar to him/her. But this is a risky thing to do. By talking with your teenager and making him/her more aware of the dangers of date rape, you may prevent your teen from letting his/her guard down even when out on a date with somebody familiar.
Talking with your teen about the dangers of date rape
Once your teen starts dating, you should talk with him/her about the dangers of date rape.
For example, a teen girl may come home one night after a date feeling horribly ashamed herself, even dirty. That night she may have been kissing with her date when he put his hand between her legs. She may have pushed it away, but he kept on touching her there. An action like this may have a grave affect on your teen’s self-image. The sexual hunger that may have driven the boy in this example to act the way he did can be a shock to a young teenage girl. At first, she may not even come to terms with the fact that she had been sexually assaulted. But the shame or dirty feeling will linger within even if she may not initially confront it. She may then become depressed or even deal with self-harm, without admitting even to her self or others that actual assault had taken place. This is a danger that date rape carries. At times the line of assault may be a blur in the young woman’s mind because of the simple fact that it was a date, but this should not be the case. Assault is assault and agreeing to a date does not give your date the freedom to do whatever he/she likes with your body.
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