Resource Of the Week: She Touched Me: Five Snapshots of Adult Sexual Violations of Black Boys – PubMed (nih.gov)
“Too often the idea of young Black boys as sexually aggressive or criminally assaultive displaces the idea that they can be victims at all. As such, Black boys are not theorized or researched as victims of sexual violations in current gender literatures. Instead they are almost exclusively represented as perpetrators of sexual violence, not victims of it.”
Let’s take a moment to unpack those statements – how we view others, the biases that we carry around with us (often unconsciously) matter – they can mean the difference between a person receiving help/support or a person being laughed at/shunned/ and shamed. It is important during this month of Black History to talk about and promote the idea that not only women fall victim to sexual violence, stereotypes, and myths. We have to dig deep and educate ourselves and our loved ones about the different faces that abuse can take and why it matters that we understand.
It only takes one adult to make the difference in a young person’s life – to stand up and say “I do not think that the way you are being treated is right for you” – we at SARCC encourage you to challenge people’s pre-conceived notions and make sure that everyone (regardless of race, sexual orientation, and country of origin, etc.) get the help/support/and services that you would want access to in situations like these.
