美国国家公共电台 NPR How To Talk To Young People About The Kavanaugh Story

How To Talk To Young People About The Kavanaugh Story

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

There can be no doubt that this has happened to a lot of parents lately. They're in the car with their kids, and the radio is on, and a story about Christine Blasey Ford 1 comes on that radio. She accused Supreme 2 Court nominee 3 Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault when both were teenagers. How do you talk about that story with teenagers? We should warn you that some people may find the next 3 minutes or so disturbing. Here's NPR's Anya Kamenetz.

ANYA KAMENETZ, BYLINE 4: In 2017, a teenager named Francesca was assaulted by a classmate.

FRANCESCA: One night during the summer, I was pinned down, and he fondled with my breasts and sexually assaulted me.

KAMENETZ: We're only using her first name because she's 15 years old. She struggled with coming forward, but eventually became an activist 5 and public speaker on consent. For far too many young people like Francesca who are listening to the news right now, they're not learning about sexual violation 6 because it's already happened - if not to them, then to someone they know.

What they are learning is whether the adults in power will take such claims seriously and whether speaking up results in harsher consequences for survivors 8 or for those accused. Debra Hauser is president of Advocates for Youth, a national nonprofit that works for honest sexual health education. She calls this moment...

DEBRA HAUSER: A little bit of a, I think, battle for kind of the soul of our nation and whether we'll have equity 9 for young women or not.

KAMENETZ: So how are we supposed to talk to our children about all this? Hauser says the reality is...

HAUSER: As parents, you're the primary sexuality educator of your children, whether you're saying anything or not.

KAMENETZ: But, Hauser says, when something like this is in the news...

HAUSER: This is a teachable moment, so to speak, that a parent can use.

KAMENETZ: She says your goal is to be someone your kids can turn to in a tough situation.

HAUSER: The most important thing is to try to be an askable (ph) parent.

KAMENETZ: In other words, a parent who is open to being asked about anything.

HAUSER: And so, in this situation, I think, having a conversation about what happened, why it happened, what's going on right now, what your child might think of the situation.

KAMENETZ: Sexual assault is one of the hardest topics to bring up. But as a parent, you don't have to have all the right answers. You don't even have to have any answer.

KAREN RAYNE: You just need to engage in the conversation.

KAMENETZ: Karen Rayne is a sex educator with a nonprofit called Unhushed. She says we need to think about what we tell potential perpetrators.

RAYNE: You know, it's the people who are doing the sexual assaulting that need a different kind of education and a different kind of support starting from a very young age about things like when they're attracted to someone or interested in someone and that person rejects them.

KAMENETZ: With the right education, says Rayne, a young man might be able to say...

HAUSER: Oh, you know what? I've been drinking too much, and I feel like my capacity to make wise decisions is failing me. Or, oh, hey, you know, when someone's trying to push me off of them, that's something that I should take as a cue to get off.

KAMENETZ: For Francesca, the 15-year-old survivor 7, she's worried about the lessons this moment in history will teach.

FRANCESCA: People already do not take kids seriously, and when survivors' needs are ignored after sexual assault, they suffer even more.

KAMENETZ: She says, no matter what happens, teenagers and their parents need to come forward and break their silence.

Anya Kamenetz, NPR News.