I am not saying you did anything. I am asking how you would explain to an eleven yr old girl why the boys targeted her and why you think they didn’t do anything wrong despite the fact that she was embarrassed and felt unsafe enough to want to leave the pool after their treatment of her. You can’t even look her in face, can you? |
| i can't believe some people are minimizing what happened. It's sexual assault. And all the usual discussion about what we should be teaching/talking about with our daughters vs. how to teach boys (and girls) that touching anyone without their consent is wrong. |
Of course I can't "look her in the face." I have no idea who OP is, and most likely I have never and will never meet her daughter. It is not evident that these boys even did "target her." I think people that did nothing wrong have not done anything wrong. Random strangers who are minding their own business are not responsible for OP's daughter feeling "embarrassed and unsafe." If you and I both happened to be in the same place today (like a grocery store or gas station) and I decided I felt "embarrassed" by your mere presence--does that give me the right to hit you? For my family members to scream at you? Unless YOU are willing to subject your self to physical assault and verbal abuse based on the "feelings" of random strangers you have no interaction with, you need to pipe down. |
| I think we actually need to publicly shame boys and men like this in real time. They get away with it when no one speaks up. I know it’s easier said than done. I know some women and girls have already caught some harassment on camera. I hope they keep doing it and shaming these men. |
If I witnessed an assault and did nothing, then yes, I’m at fault. But I did not witness this incident. As I said, bystander training is one of the most effective ways to prevent sexual assault. Brock Turner would not have been caught had other people not intervened. I do understand OP’s DH’s decision to respect his daughters wishes. However, I believe one of my roles as a parent is to draw boundaries for my children when they are unable to draw their own due to age. I personally would have called the police and notified hotel security in that situation. I believe that is an appropriate reaction for 14 year old boys. What I don’t understand is why everyone is so quick to defend those boys. What they did was wrong, and it’s better to help them understand why *now* rather than in 10 years when they could potentially hurt someone even worse. |
But of course that’s not what happened. The boys who surrounded her did act. They were not minding their own business. They forced an interaction on her. She was not embarrassed or made to feel unsafe by their mere presence but rather by their own actions. What they did was wrong but you would have the girl believe it was ok. When it comes to assault, people have been telling women to pipe down forever. Why do you do that? |
This^^^^ It’s called “gang mentality “ |
So, let's stay quiet about being sexually assaulted just in case the violence escalates. Women and 11 yr old girls should just bear the assault so that men don't get into trouble. OMG. No, he didn't get arrested. It happened in school, and if the cops had been called, that boy who assaulted me and the other girls would have also gotten into trouble, and possibly kicked out of school. He did this to several girls, and see, no one said anything, and that's why he got away with it until the BF of one confronted him. I dont think the boy who punched that creep would have gotten kicked out, maybe suspended but not kicked out. |
? yelling a threat like I'm going to punch you is an assault? You expect your 11 yr old DD to not be bothered by sexual assault ? Well, it's no wonder sex assaults are still happening regularly. Even grown ups think it's nbd for children to be sexually assaulted. Wow. During the whole Kavanugh thing, I recall some reporter asking a mom with two tween/teen DDS with her what she thought about the allegations. She said, it was no big deal. That's how boys are. That's you. |
💯 I have a very tall 11 year old daughter who looks like she could be in high school because of her height and have seen older men (20-somethings to dads pushing strollers) check her out when I am walking with her and her friends to the park- so gross. I dress her in Lands End, JCrew and LL bean clothes because I know if she wore standard “juniors” clothes she would be even more of a target. Also, boys that would surround a young girl in a pool are future predators. I am 48- when I traveling in Rome alone for a business trip,4 years ago,I was harassed and stalked for 1 hour around the city when I was sightseeing by a group of well-dressed Italian men who kept telling me “you are so beautiful and gorgeous”- the only reason I was able to escape for them was because I ducked into a chapel and a group of nuns were there who I started talking to. The police officers that I saw laughed at the guys comments. We have to teach young people that all people have sovereignty over their bodies at any age and sexual harassment in any form is never ok. I m so sorry that this young girl had to experience it. Grateful to the mom for sharing this experience. I hope the dad sees how he missed a prime opportunity to advocate for his daughter when she was assaulted and will do so if she unfortunately ever experiences harassment again. |
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A similar thing happened to me on the school bus. I was surrounded by boys and didn't know who did it. I was angry and let them know. I told my parents, but asked them not to say anything. The next day my older cousin who lived a few towns over met me at the bus stop and went on the bus. I don't know what was said, but I could tell it scared them and they never touched me again.
This was in the 80s. I'm sure all the parents of snowflakes today would try to sue or get the bus driver fired. My dad is old school from the south who moved north so he handled it in his country way without breaking his promise to me. I think it's important to address issues like this when they happen. I also understand why the dad honored his daughter's wishes. |
Not harmless. It's assault. You wouldn't put up with it between adults, why is it ok between kids/teens? What message are you sending to these boys? |
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I have not read the whole thread but if it was my DD, I would have raised a stink and called the hotel security and the cops. Probably nothing would have happened but the boys and their parents would have been very much embarrassed. Hopefully, there were some boys who were not the perverts who would have been appalled by getting dragged into this.
I would have taken pictures of the boys too on my cell phone. |
Exactly. I am floored by some of the answers here but given how common sexual assault is, it's not shocking. I think some people really think that it always involves some creep hiding in the bushes. The same young teens who are touching girls without consequence can easily become the same older teens/men who end up doing much worse. My guess is that some of the same fools who don't think this is a big deal blame women for their assaults. |
I would have done with same. F the whole "oh boys will be boys and just let it go" mentality. |