At what age would you have that talk with your daughter so she’s not surprised by street harassment and treatment by men around her body? And any comments or insights on how would be good too.
UPDATE
Thanks everyone for your comments and insights. I had a little chat with her before she went out today. I used some of your words like “if someone makes you feel unsafe then they are not safe to be around”. I advised her to ignore and move on and if necessary seek the safety of the nearest woman, they are just likely to understand if you say you don’t feel safe even if you don’t know why.
Really appreciate you all here, thanks for helping.
It’s not, I’ve had several talks with my kid about this through their life so far and they’re around that age.
They need to know that not every adult is safe. That there are adults that want to hurt them. This is the truth regardless of gender.
Internet safety is a big one. Also teaching what to do if someone tries to pick them up, if someone wants to know more about them or if they feel uncomfortable, etc.
I talk about how different groups of people are sometimes treated differently in our society. This includes how women are treated. What slurs are and why they’re harmful.
It’s all part of a larger conversation about the truths of our world. At 9 years old, they probably have already picked up on some of this. Maybe start with asking what they perceive about this already if anything?
Oh yeah we’ve talked about adults and safety and how groups of people are treated differently and all that. I’m specifically talking about street harassment and creeps.
It’s all related in my opinion. I’d extend from those conversations about unsafe adults and talk about street harassment.