How to talk to your child about Rape?

When the Delhi gang rape incident happened there was discussion in the living room, parks, lifts and workplace. The kids are listening, so how do you explain to your child what sex is all about. I came across this dreadful question when my son asked me this question, “Mama, what is rape?” Now that was the most difficult question in my whole life.

I tried to keep my child unaware of such harsh realities of life to protect them him. But I felt the need to explain it to him by keeping it simple. I did not get into in-depth details about what rape is. I just explained things from the child’s perspective in a manner so that the child does not get terrified. Talk to the child about good touch and bad touch and that nobody should touch their private parts.

Tell the child that rape is crime which is as terrible as murder. Tell him that rape is about breaking a rule. Children understand rules and know that they should not be broken at any cost. Tell them that rape is a serious crime that can hurt people and that people get arrested for committing such crime.

Explain the topic of rape according to the age of a person. I told my son that is some people touches you or hugs you tightly and you don’t like it and if anybody touches you in the private part, you should come and complain it to mummy. Teach your kids not to keep secrets from parents. If your child is 12 to 16 years old tell them that rape is a sexual crime. The bottom line is that you must be age appropriate, not sensationalize or generalize the topic, but we avoid the questions and answer to it carefully.