An 11-year-old in the Beaverton School District in Oregon was exposed to pornography during science class at school. You KNOW if it’s happening in one middle school, it’s happening in many, if not most.

This episode is a conversation with the student’s mother. We hear what happened and how the school and school district have responded – spoiler alert – or have NOT responded. We talk about specific ways to address pornography with children.

We discuss the policies, procedures and codes as they are written on the school and school district websites. If the rules were working, the child who brought the pornographic website into the classroom on their phone would not have had their phone hidden in the pencil case. The school district claims to be following protocol. If so, why, two days after this incident, is the same phone back in the classroom? “Increased vigilance” is clearly not working.

I believe the school, school district, families and the community care about the safety of all the children. I also believe our community needs better training about how to handle and talk about pornography with middle schoolers, and let’s add in elementary and high schoolers while we are at it. The landscape is changing. We need to keep up.

Pretending it’s not happening, denial, or dismissing it as simply “inappropriate conduct” means the issue is not being dealt with head-on. Pushing this under the rug is not the answer. Again, the landscape is changing, and all of us who care about kids' safety need to keep up.

Important Links for Listeners:

Books and Articles:

Sweden’s Answer - article

Book: Good Pictures, Bad Pictures

UNICEF Article: Protection of Children from the Harmful Impacts of Pornography

The Atlantic, Article: What Porn Taught a Generation of Women

Article by the American Academy of Pediatrics: Talking to Your Child About Online Pornography Exposure

Book: “Getting Off: One Woman’s Journey Through Sex and Porn Addiction

Film: Childhood 2.0

Connections:

Connect about classes regarding parental protocols and cellphone safety

Connect with Silvia

Additional Resources:

National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673

National Association of Adult Survivors of Child Abuse

Folks this is a jaw-dropping self-defense success story! Meet Ashlyn Johnson, a martial artist of many years who uses her skills and experience to help make the world a better place. Here’s Ashlyn’s bio:

Ashlyn Johnson, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC, CNE

Dr. Johnson is an assistant professor of nursing and a dual-certified family nurse practitioner and psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner. She maintains clinical practice providing psychiatric services to patients struggling with substance use disorders. Her service and research agendas focus on mental health and empowerment, particularly related to interpersonal violence, trauma, and resilience. She is currently investigating the relationship between self-defense training, trauma, PTSD symptoms, and resilience. Outside of work, she enjoys tea and a good book, martial arts, travel, and spending time with her 4-year-old daughter.

We’ve got an award-willing guest speaking with us and we’re about to learn a lot about the origins of the women's self-defense movement in the United States. Turn up your volume and put on your thinking cap. Here we go!

Wendy Rouse, among many other things, is a historian who teaches at San Jose State University in CA. She’s a researcher, the author of various articles and several books, and as the program coordinator for the History/Social Science Teacher Preparation Program at SJSU she also mentors other people who want to become educators.

• Wendy’s website:com
• Her Own Hero – The Origins of the Women’s Self Defense Movement: https://wendylrouse.com/research/

Connect with Silvia

Resources:

National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673

National Association of Adult Survivors of Child Abuse

Support this important work:

Buy Me a Coffee

Donate through my website

Thank you!

#theempowermentpodcast, #theempowermentproject, #theempowermentpodcastybynaga, #empowermentselfdefense, #selfdefense, #nagacommunity, #herownhero, #wendylrouse, #womensselfdefensehistory