Your Children Are Not Safe from Workplace Harassment
Your Children Are Not Safe from Workplace Harassment
Your teen children have probably started working, saving up for college, and going out to do fun things with friends. You feel secure knowing your child is taking up some financial responsibility and learning a work ethic, but how secure do you feel knowing your child is subject to creeps and people who will stop at nothing to be right? How can you protect your children from the kind of people who want to hurt them when you're not around?
Sending your kid to work is a great experience for them and their growth into adulthood. “The workplace promises to be a target-rich environment for socializing with other adolescents and young adults.”Your kid is socializing with other individuals their age and older, learning financial responsibility, and how to work with people. However, your teens are still young and impressionable, and not everyone there will have their best interests at heart. And your teen might not see the warning signs until it's too late.
Your children are potentially being subjected to sexualized behavior, and they might not know it.“Nearly two-thirds of high-school-aged women, and one-third of adolescent men of the same age, reported having experienced at least one form of sexualized behavior at work.” Customers whose eyes linger too long, coworkers whose hands like to ‘accidentally’ wander, managers who give special treatment. You can't bank on anyone being safe. In West Virginia, a 17-year-old employee of a Chuck-E-Cheese filed a lawsuit against the company for allowing the supervisor to groom her. “She claimed her manager groomed her for unwanted touching with sexually inappropriate comments.” Even the adults who are supposed to be keeping your child safe could be making the workplace unsafe.
If your child is uncomfortable with some behavior in their workplace, from a customer, there isn't much management can do. It's a public space, and unless there is any immediate danger from said customer, they are not considered to be doing anything wrong. If a coworker is a problem and your kid speaks up about it, and the manager talks to the other employee, it could cause a hostile work environment between the two. If the manager or adult in charge is the problem, who is your child supposed to go to for help?
Not all harassment is noticeable; it can come from the most unexpected places. Jeffrey Epstein was a wealthy man who was able to run a huge sex trafficking ring of underage girls for other wealthy people. He and his girlfriend at the time would exploit the vulnerabilities of young girls, and when they were successful in luring them to his home to perform messages. “Each of the victims that went to the home were asked to bring their friends to the home.” From there, these girls would be taken under the manipulation of this is the life you want.
Some might say that once they are out in the real world, they will have to deal with these issues all the time, and that teens are old enough to defend themselves. But who's going to back them up when the person in charge is grooming them? Our children shouldn't be coddled, but they can't be left to fend for themselves; it's the parents' job to protect their kids and prepare them for the real world. Parents should not have to be scared that their teenagers are being groomed in a place that is supposed to be safe. Teens should not have to suffer in an uncomfortable workspace.
Parents should be teaching their Teens about the signs of grooming, harassment, and uncomfortable situations. Don't let your kids think it's normal for someone to touch them inappropriately or eye them up like a piece of meat. They may be growing into adults, but they still need protecting from predators they don't understand to be out there stalking them like prey. The safety of your children should be your priority.
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