Sexual violence and consent have a role in 'The Talk' with kids
You can't be a parent watching the many stories of sexual violence unfold without wondering how to keep your own kids from being victims or victimizers. Today, parents discuss how to talk to boys and girls about consent and how to keep that talk going before they go away to school.
The year that's just come to a close has been filled with stories of sexual violence -- from the women who have made allegations against former CBC host Jian Ghomeshi, to the rape allegations dogging comedian Bill Cosby.
Questions of sexual misconduct and consent have been so much in the news that there's no tuning them out. That's especially true for parents. Because it falls to parents to try to help their children make sense of this difficult part of our world... especially in cases that hit closest to home because they involve young people.
Think of the death of Rehtaeh Parsons in April, 2013 after a photo of her sexual assault was shared on social media ... or the case of a young girl in Steubenville, Ohio, the year before.
So, how to have the "talk" today ... when the talk includes gender equality, sexual violence, and consent? We assembled a panel of three parents who've given this a lot of thought.
Ian Brown is an author and a feature writer with The Globe and Mail. He was in Toronto.
Soraya Chemaly is a feminist, writer, and satirist. She was in Washington.
David Eddie is an author and columnist with The Globe and Mail. He was also in Toronto.
We want to hear from you. If you're a parent, how do you talk to your kids about these issues? And what's at stake for everyone when it comes to getting it right?
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This segment was produced by The Current's Kristin Nelson and Catherine Kalbfleisch.