Years and years ago, my mom had read an article that talked about a young girl going to a party. She made the unwise decision of going with a guy to his place, she thought to watch a movie. It soon became apparent that he wanted to get physical. She didn't want to, and told him that her parents would wonder where she was if she didn't return home, so she needed to leave. He threatened her and made her call her parents and make up a story about wanting to spend the night at her friend's, as an excuse. She chose a friend she didn't think her mom knew well, in order for her mom to be more likely to say no. Her mom didn't think anything was wrong, so she said, "Well, sure!" Her parents now knew she would not be home and assumed she was safe; the guy then raped her and abused her that night.
The point isn't that the young girl made a bad decision to go to the party or go home with that boy (though both were indeed poor choices). The point isn't that men are rapists and horrible (because I could see some saying I'm being unfair). The point is that she was in a position where she couldn't really say what was going on.
After that, my parents and us kids came up with a secret phrase. If I were to call my dad and say that phrase, he would know that something is not right, but I'm not in a place to explain, and could start alerting authorities or at least come after me himself. He would know it was something serious. He would know not to give anything away that he was tipped off (because that could be a life and death thing if the person of threat knew what I had done).
Is it likely that I'll ever be in a scenario where I have to call my parents and not be able to explain? Probably not. But it's better to be safe than sorry. I think it'd be more useful for teens who are more likely to get themselves into sticky situations. But I would encourage the parents here to at least have some sort of plan should an less than ideal situation happen.
The point isn't that the young girl made a bad decision to go to the party or go home with that boy (though both were indeed poor choices). The point isn't that men are rapists and horrible (because I could see some saying I'm being unfair). The point is that she was in a position where she couldn't really say what was going on.
After that, my parents and us kids came up with a secret phrase. If I were to call my dad and say that phrase, he would know that something is not right, but I'm not in a place to explain, and could start alerting authorities or at least come after me himself. He would know it was something serious. He would know not to give anything away that he was tipped off (because that could be a life and death thing if the person of threat knew what I had done).
Is it likely that I'll ever be in a scenario where I have to call my parents and not be able to explain? Probably not. But it's better to be safe than sorry. I think it'd be more useful for teens who are more likely to get themselves into sticky situations. But I would encourage the parents here to at least have some sort of plan should an less than ideal situation happen.
