**ANOTHER UPDATE**
Blogger doesn't do threaded comments, so to respond to a colleague, just post a second comment. Mention the name of the person you're responding to, and summarize the central point you want to address.
By the way, one very legitimate response might be to be persuaded by someone else. If someone made a very good point that swayed your thinking, you can make that your response - but try to drive the conversation forward by adding something to the good point - say in detail how your thinking changed, add additional evidence, or fill out the reasoning.
**UPDATE**
Don't forget to include your first name and last initial in your post, so I can give you credit for the assignment! Include a last initial so that I don't have to hunt through the 3-page long roster looking for your first name. If you forgot to include your last initial, or your name at all, send me an email.
"Professional counselors who learn that a minor in their care has been sexually assaulted are obligated to tell the minor's parent(s)/guardian(s) about the assault, unless the minor alleges that it is the parent(s)/guardian(s) who has committed the assault."
In the comments, do all 3 of the following:
1. Say whether you support creating the law as written; support creating the law with amendments, and list the amendments; or oppose the law.
2. Give your reasons in support of your position.
3. Raise 2 of the best points against your position, and say why those points are wrong, or are less important than your reasons.
I oppose the law because of the fact that there are a lot of unintended consequences when we make the law. I also think that this should not be an issue in the hands of the legislature, and this also affects the child's trust issues, violates the child's confidentiality, and it can lead to unintended consequences when you tell the parents.The best points for the opposition are that telling the parents will help with the healing process and it can build a better relationship with child, but i think these two facts can have consequences. For example, if the child's parents are doing the abusing, and even if it helps build a better relationship with parents the child will not trust the councilor the next time they meet.
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ReplyDeleteI oppose the law but I'm willing to support creating the law if an amendment were put in place that ONLY allowed "professional counselors" to intervene in cases where the minor is too young to understand the situation for themselves. I'm still MORE in favor of respecting peoples right to privacy. In my opinion, individuals feel more comfortable speaking with a psychiatrist (for example) because they trust that their physician will keep the conversation confidential. Mandating that professional counselors be obligated to tell parents ANYTHING, violates that "trust" and defeats the entire purpose of confiding in basically a stranger. Some of the better points of passing the law is, (like andrewfro said) the parents know whats best for their child and I guess therefore best know how to handle the situation. I strongly disagree with this point mainly because it assumes the parents/guardians are responsible parents. I doubt we'd say "parents know whats best for the child" if they were unfit parents. Another point made by the opposition is that by telling the parent/guardian about the sexual assualt, the parents can then seek further help if needed. I wouldn't see anything wrong with this point, but suppose the child doesn't want the parent to know or isn't quite ready to tell them. In this situation the counselor should be able to seek confidental help for the child rather than tell the parents.
ReplyDeleteThanks for getting us started, guys!
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of an important point - if your screen name is not the same as your real name, please put AT LEAST your first name and last initial at the end of your post so I can give you credit for the assignment.
So, lot's a great points about the value of confidentiality - let's all try to expand even more on that in the further discussion.
Andrew, you raise some interesting points. Don't forget that it's built into the proposed law that the counselor wouldn't tell the parents if it was the parents committing the abuse (so that response to the opposing point wouldn't apply). Also, it would be great if you'd flesh out your points - which unintended consequences are you worried about? *Why* do you think it's not a good issue for the legislature?
Jdub, good points - I expect this will raise a lot of good discussion.
Okay, looking forward to see what everyone has to say!
I oppose the law because minors confide in a counselor for a reason. Minors are usually afraid to tell their parents, in general. Most minors don’t even talk to their parents, so why would it be right for a counselor to tell them. Ultimately, I think it’s the minor’s decision. It’s better to talk to a stranger about personal problems like what jdub was I think implying, especially to a professional that was trained to deal with these purposes.
ReplyDeleteBut then again I would pass this law on the grounds of adding an amendment. I think if this law was to pass, there should be an age limit. For example, counselors should have the right to tell the parent/legal guardian if they are under 13 years old. I feel like teenagers know their own sense of self and know how to feel and act in certain situations, where they can handle themselves way better than an infant or child can.
Two points against my position are that it can take long term effects on a child and parents/legal guardians are the “backbone” for them. I disagree with both of these arguments because what happens if they are the cause of the problem they are having. Or what happens if the parents are just “bad parents” and the child knows that they wouldn’t care. But I honestly believe every child should be handled on a case to case base. Every case is different and should be handled by the severity of each one.
Finally, I feel like what’s your business is YOUR business. The unintended consequence is if you make this a law, kids might stop going to a counselor and therefore getting no more help for the main problem that they are having. The well being of a child is no longer there. Kids can or will get worse without the extra support.
I would oppose this law because I believe the laws we currently have in place are sufficient to handle this problem. Not only that, but implementing any law is expensive and if what we already have in place to protect and help minors in the instance of sexual abuse is sufficient, we would potentially be wasting funds that could be funneled to the treatment of these victims.
ReplyDeleteAs it stands there is a very long list of “mandated reporters” (which include professional counselors) who are already legally obligated to inform authorities of any type of abuse on a minor whether it is sexual or otherwise. These mandated reporters must notify the Police, Sheriff, or CPS, etc (or face legal consequences). Parents are not among the authorities that mandated reporters are required to report to, but a part of the information they must give the authorities is any contact information they have for the parent(s)/guardian(s). I am not clear what the police are required to do regarding parental notification, but it seems to me that common sense and the natural flow of information (considering the victims are minors) would lead to the parents. I think it would only be in special circumstances that the flow of information would not lead to the parents.
I heard some in class say (in support of this law) that parents have a right to be informed. I would generally agree with this, but do we really need to legislate it? Aren’t the laws that are in place sufficient to inform them? Another point I heard raised in class (by the supporters of this law) was that parents could be a part of the process of healing if they were informed. I generally agree with this as well. I also believe that if a parent is paying attention and already has a relationship with their child, the abused will be more likely to want them to know of any abuse. Maybe we need to be more concerned about developing parent/child relationships before there is a crisis, than implementing costly laws that are probably unnecessary?
I support this law with amendments. I believe that if a professional counselor finds out that a minor in their care has been sexually assaulted, they should admittedly go speak with someone. Now you stated that they should be obligated to contact the parent/ guardian and in that case the Law should be changed slightly. Seeing the situation from the child’s point of view they are speaking to a professional for a reason. Whether it’s because the parent is the one doing the abusing, or maybe they feel that they cannot speak with their parents because consequences may fallow. Bringing a parent into this fragile situation so early can sometimes do more harm than good. Remember we are thinking about the child’s best interest therefore we should thoroughly analyze the situation before taking any farther steps. I suggest having an additional counseling session with the child so you and the child can both determine who would be the best person to take the situation to. Now I am not saying that the child is the best person to make this decision but they can be helpful, but untimely the adult should have the last word.
ReplyDeleteI believe that professional counselors should have the right to solve the problem of abuse the best way they see fit when it comes to a minor and sexual abuse. The counselor is a professional, and should be trained on how to handle abuse and similar cases like it. Now at this point the child is reaching out for help. As a minor the child mentally, does not know what is best especially at the time he/she is explaining the incident to the counselor. We as adults have to take the lead because this problem has to be solved one way or another. So yes I do believe that counselor should be given the right, yes the right to take matters in their own hands when it comes to minors and sexual abuse, And only sexual abuse. Sexual abuse is mental abuse and if the counselor does not take that into his/her own hands then the situation can grow and turn into a number of problems. Now I don’t believe that they should be obligated to first speak to the parent/ guardian. I believe that the counselor should take action accordingly depending on the special needs of the situation, and the PROFESSIONAL counselor should be educated enough to spot what those special need are.
Personally, I oppose the law.
ReplyDeletePrivacy and confidentiality is something that we all deserve. Especially when we confide in someone and express to them how we are feeling, and what's happening in our lives, etc.
I think it's their choice if they want to let that information out to their parents or legal guardians.
When minors speak to counselors about certain problems or issues regarding sexual harassment, counselors do not have a right to tell the minor's parents about it due to confidentiality and loss of respect as well as trust from their patients.
Some people may say that it would be so much better for counselors, as well as the minor to inform the parents/guardians of this horrible event so that the parents would be able to help their kid cope with the situation. Well what if the parents found out and gave their kid a hard time about it saying things like, "How can you be so weak? Why can't you defend yourself?!" This can create a bigger situation for the family. Also, some parents would blame themselves for what happened to their child. They would not be in the right state of mind to help them cope with their child’s assault.
Understand that not all parents or guardians are the same and they may not take it the same way as others.
Another counter-argument is: Parents have the right to know what goes on in their child's life especially if they're a minor.
I think that this is strictly the parent's responsibility to find out what goes on in their child's life.
But I understand that not everybody has a healthy relationship with their parents or guardians.
There are even some cases in which the parents or guardians are the ones sexually assaulting their child and threatening to kill them if they told anyone. What would the counselor do at that point? It's not the counselor's place to tell anyone of that situation, but to respect their patient's confidentiality.
I am for the law with amendments, such as the counselor should first have a couple of sessions with the minor to determine who to notify if the parents or the authorities in the case that the parent is doing the abusing. Another amendment I would add to this law is that after a certain age the case would be treated differently, for example after 14 years old the minor can have more privacy rights the counselor would have to take in consideration what the child wants. But if it’s a child under 14 they should evaluate the case and notify the legal guardians. I believe that a parent or guardian usually wants the best for the child and if they are informed that their child is being harmed they would do what they have to to protect them.
ReplyDeleteOne point against my opinion can be that everyone deserves the right to privacy when talking to a professional about what they are going through. I think when abuse is going on specially to a child that does not have the mental capacity to understand what is happening to them, they should be protected even if that means telling someone else about the issue. Another point against my opinion is that the minor will lose trust and have trust issues later on in life, I think this issues can be helped with therapy but the mental and physical harm sexual abuse does to a child is much worse then trust issues. This is why I think a professional should have to do what it takes to help this child from being abused to prevent future problems that sexual abuse has on people.
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ReplyDeleteI oppose the law because there are a lot of unintended consequences to consider. What about the privacy clause, which basically, states that everything a client/patient says and asks of the professional counselor, is to remain among the two. However, if the Professional counselor tells the parent/guardian about without consenting the minor, then the privacy clause would be breeched, and the minor would not trust the professional counselor. However, in certain circumstances where the minor is too young to understand and comprehend what’s going on, then I believe that the counselor should intervene and notify the parent/guardian about the situation. However, according to Jean Piaget’s (child physiologist) theory of cognitive development, children are incapable of comprehending until they reach a particular stage in cognitive development. So with this said, then I would agree with this law, if certain amendments are implemented. If the minor is under 12 years old, then I feel that the parent/guardian should be aware of the situation. Now as far as 13 -17 yrs old, that’s a different story. Teenagers confined to people who they trust, some find it difficult to talk to there parents/guardians about certain things so that is where the professional counselor comes into play.
ReplyDeleteSome points that might be raised are the psychological and emotional affects. This can take a great toll on a person. It can affect their relationships with others in the long run as well as trusting them. That’s why the privacy clause is very important in this circumstance. Overall, what is the best interest for the child in this case? We must consider that not all minors have healthy relationships with their parent/guardian. But then again at what point will the parent/guardian step up and create a better relationship?
After hearing everyone’s opinions on the matter in class it became evident to me that the pros of implementing this law outweigh the cons. I support this law, but with an amendment. The amendment would make it so there is a difference in the action the counselor takes depending on the age of the minor. A minor is considered anyone under the age of 18, the first legal age of sexual consent. The amendment dealing with age would make a cut off between children who do not know much at all about dealing with sex and older teens that are more experienced and comfortable with the idea of sex and independence. The cut off would let any minor age fourteen and up tell the counselor whether or not they can tell their parent/guardian. Minors under the age of fourteen would not have a choice in the matter, the counselor will tell the parent/guardian. It may be helpful for the parents to be informed about any harm their children may be in, no matter the age, because if they know the situation they may be able to help. On the other hand, older teens or young adults are much more mature and mentally fit to handle themselves than a young child is, and they deserve more privacy rights as they mature. It cannot be said either that if the counselor is not entitled to tell the parent that the counselor is no longer helpful at all to the minor. However, that is not true. Most minors go to counseling because they cannot, for whatever reason, talk to their own parent/guardian, the counselor is their sit in parent for that time and issue. Being able to talk to anyone about an issue is what is important with a maturing young adult, not who the issue was discussed with.
ReplyDeleteI ultimately disagree with passing a new law, requiring counselors to inform parents/guardians of sexual abuse. Undoubtedly, I agree with Kristy on the argument of wasted funds with the process of a new law. As the professor mentioned in class “We should be more concerned about the well-being of the child and the effects the child may have in reaction to his/her privacy broken.” I disagree a parent/guardian would have the knowledge to proceed with successful treatment for his/her minor. We have all heard the old saying “there is no hand book for parents”, but there are resources on the internet, in his/her child’s school and their local Human resources buildings. There are thousands of “unattainable consequences” such as- The parent is the sexual abuser or a favored family member, maybe the school janitor. As a parent myself I believe as your child grows he/she looks for multiple role models, usually resulting in their teacher, superhero, or even a trusted counselor. Children build a foundation of trust with their parents and proceed practicing this newly acquired skill with teachers, outside role models and trusted counselors. Taking this trust away could result in a domino effect leading to the foundation he/she started with the parents.
ReplyDeleteOne point mentioned in class against my position is the new law will help families come together and possibly strengthen the healing process. I disagree because breaching counselor confidentiality can have a devastating effect on the well-being of a minor. Emotions such as anger, shame, remorse and fear may all come together in the reaction to news that the counselor has revealed information that was shared in private. The strong sense of betrayal may effectively derail any good that has come from the counseling or therapy up to that point, leaving the minor feeling isolated and afraid to expose their emotions and inner thoughts with anyone else.
Another point mentioned in class is the counselors hold to much information and let the child suffer, because of current law limitations. The legal limitations on counselor confidentiality vary from one nation to another. Depending on the nature of laws that are in effect in a given jurisdiction, the counselor may be required to divulge certain types of information to legal authorities. For example, should a minor confess to committing a murder or some other type of highly serious crime, laws within a given jurisdiction may require that the counselor urge the minor to approach the authorities directly. Should the minor choose to not do so, the counselor may be required to supply authorities with all details in his or her possession.
I believe current laws today are not perfect, nor have any past laws, but how we interpret and use the law usually defines our own justice.
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ReplyDeleteI would oppose the law because telling minor's parents about minor's privacy is not the best way to help minor extricate from a predicament. I think the purpose of creating the law is to protect minor, and keep minor from scathe. However, the law cannot attain the goal. Everyone has different situation. There are so many special case in the world. If minor told counselors and his parents that he has been sexually assaulted, and then minor did not get help effectively from his parents, perhaps minor's heart and self-respect was more wounded. Maybe minor would think nobody can help me in the world. Therefore, I think the best way is that minor can ask professional counselor or his parents to accompany him to see psychologist. Psychologist is the best choice. They should know how to help minor. Minor do not need to tell both of counselor and parents about the problem, because I do not think minor want more persons know his privacy. The second point,if parents know the thing from counselors.How do they help their child? It looks like a secret between child and counselor. The thing which minor has been sexually assaulted should be expressed out by minor-self. Telling parents from minor is always better than counselor tell parents. Of course, if minor do not want his parents know the thing, he can choose to remain silent. In the case, I think minor is the real lead. If minor told someone about his privacy, it is able to prove minor trust the person implicitly. Therefore, when minor told counselor about the thing, counselor do not need to tell his parents. The purpose is not telling parents minor's privacy. The purpose is helping minor! The professional counselor should use different way to help different minors. In this case, counselor and parents have responsibility provide help to minor, but if adults cannot deal with this matter very well, the minor would be more wounded. Therefore, counselor and parents need to deal with this matter very cautiously. Finally, I want to say that if I was the minor, I would activally tell my parents about the thing. Most parents understand their child, so they can help their child better than counselor. This law should be deleted, but I hope there will be more better laws which protect minor to be created in the future.
ReplyDeleteDear Michelle,
ReplyDeleteI see your point that many teens don’t even talk to their parents. Don’t you think that this is a big red flag? The main function of being parents is to provide protection to their child. Protection is very broad. It’s like a place to hide during the storm. To me, it is very odd that someone young does not have this feeling towards their own parents. I am an adult, and sometimes I wish I could run back to my parents’ home again. You know that feeling of being protected when the situation I am facing is bigger than me. And before anyone jumps into conclusions, let me say, my parents are very far away from being perfect. However, they do love me, and I know that. When we study history we see that militia which recruits children do so because they have a much better chance to control one’s mind, heart, feelings, and life if they take the child/teenager away from their family. This way it is much easier for them to “implant” any ideas or philosophy in the youth’s mind. Some of them use a technique to have the person who was recruited, to kill their own family. According to many well known psychologists, one of the basic necessities of all humans, and even to animals is the sense of belonging. It is really easy to control one’s mind if they don’t think they can count on their family for provision and protection. Nowadays, with this whole privacy issue, the teenagers are loosing the sense (feeling) of belonging. Our society is giving the teens rights that they are not ready to have. This is one of the reasons that we have so many crazy things happening, such as teenagers carrying guns to school and killing innocent people, and even killing themselves. I have a privilege of helping many teens and their families. I have over 20 years of experience of being a teacher, educator, counselor, and pastor. I have seen a lot. I have notice that as more independent, and isolated from the family one is, as more problems in all areas they get involved with. In my opinion, it is time to work on family structure. It is time to teach parents, and children to have good relationships within the family. It is time to teach trust. It is time to teach love.
Thank you,
Maggie.
I oppose the law, to an extent. Privacy and respect is something people can expect when communicating to a counselor. You are informing them on a potentially serious situation and may not feel confident in telling just anybody. The counselors should take the victim into consideration. If the victim doesn't feel comfortable informing their parents, perhaps the counselor can assist in aiding them gain confidence in doing so. With that said, a parent of a child has a right to know if their son or daughter have been a victim in a sexual crime and or assault for their safety. Contemplating about this subject, I found that this matter will always have reserves, as to what is considered the right and wrong thing to do. It depends on the certain individual and how their mentality and situation is currently. The idea of drawing the personal privacy line is something we should take into consideration depending on the age of the minor.
ReplyDeleteIf I were a parent I would want to know if my kid is in any type of danger regardless of age. You watch over family, for family is everything. In most cases people would do literally anything for family. & would want the best for their family Including wanting to be informed if any situation did occur with their loved one.
Now if I were the minor at this point I may feel differently how things go about correlating to my parents being informed about my personal life. Especially if there is a risk of causing conflict or trouble in my household.
I support this law with three amendments:
ReplyDelete1- Counselors have to tell the parents if the child is under 15 years old. (The counselor is not really telling the parents. I am explaining this point on amendment number 3). My point behind this argument is that at the age 14 most of the brain’s capacity and maturity is developed. Thus, at age 15, the youth has more support within oneself to deal with hardships. If I was an extremist I would say that this age is 18 years old, instead of 14. My reasoning for that is that to be considered an adult you have to be 18 years old for some matters, and 21 for others. If my child is not an adult yet, he/she can’t respond legally for hers/his actions, or to whatever problems they could face. At the end, the parents have to deal with the consequences of their actions, as well as to deal with whatever they are involved with.
This is the main reason, that in my opinion, the whole issue about keeping the youth’s privacy is wrong.
2- If the child meets the category above, the counselor has to make a study involving the affected family. This means a lot of work and responsibilities to the counselor. The professional will have to make a study of the culture, religion, relationship between the parents and the child, and child and other siblings, if this is the case. After the analysis, the professional is responsible for making a decision about telling or not telling the parents. The first thing that the professional has to have in mind is the well being of his/hers patient. The decision of telling the parents should only help to improve the family’s relationship and healing process of the youth.
If after careful considerations the professional determines that telling the parents will harm the patient, in any possible way, don’t tell the parents.
3- After deciding that to tell the parents is on the best interest of the child, the counselor will facilitate sessions where the child and parents will work on developing a better relationship and on building trust among them. It is obvious that if a child faces such a horrific event, and decides not to tell his/hers parents, this family has a serious issue about trust. This sometimes, is a long and costly process. But the final goal is to have better integrated and happier families.
Thank you,
Maggie Souza
Magda had some trouble getting her original comment to post, so here it is:
ReplyDeleteI support this law with three amendments:
1- Counselors have to tell the parents if the child is under 15 years old. (The counselor is not really telling the parents. I am explaining this point on amendment number 3). My point behind this argument is that at the age 14 most of the brain’s capacity and maturity is developed. Thus, at age 15, the youth has more support within oneself to deal with hardships. If I was an extremist I would say that this age is 18 years old, instead of 14. My reasoning for that is that to be considered an adult you have to be 18 years old for some matters, and 21 for others. If my child is not an adult yet, he/she can’t respond legally for hers/his actions, or to whatever problems they could face. At the end, the parents have to deal with the consequences of their actions, as well as to deal with whatever they are involved with.
This is the main reason, that in my opinion, the whole issue about keeping the youth’s privacy is wrong.
2- If the child meets the category above, the counselor has to make a study involving the affected family. This means a lot of work and responsibilities to the counselor. The professional will have to make a study of the culture, religion, relationship between the parents and the child, and child and other siblings, if this is the case. After the analysis, the professional is responsible for making a decision about telling or not telling the parents. The first thing that the professional has to have in mind is the well being of his/hers patient. The decision of telling the parents should only help to improve the family’s relationship and healing process of the youth.
If after careful considerations the professional determines that telling the parents will harm the patient, in any possible way, don’t tell the parents.
3- After deciding that to tell the parents is on the best interest of the child, the counselor will facilitate sessions where the child and parents will work on developing a better relationship and on building trust among them. It is obvious that if a child faces such a horrific event, and decides not to tell his/hers parents, this family has a serious issue about trust. This sometimes, is a long and costly process. But the final goal is to have better integrated and happier families.
Thank you,
Maggie
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ReplyDeleteI oppose this law because of one main reason being that not all situations are the same. Assuming that every sexual assault is from someone the victim has never known before would be erroneous. A statistic from New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault shows that at least 80% of all sexual assaults are committed by an acquaintance of the victim. Considering this stat, why would a counselor tell the victims parents if they may be the one/s committing the sexual assault. Even though the assaulter may not be the parents, it could be a aunt, uncle, cousin, or sibling, telling the parent/guardians could only make the situation worse. Another reason it should be the victims choice is because is because maybe they don't want anyone to know. It should be the victims choice whether or not the counselor tells the authorities or the parent/guardians.
ReplyDeletePros: I support this law the way it is. The parent has all the right to know if their minor has been sexually assaulted. If the minor is under his/her parent’s responsibility, then it’s only right for the parent to know every business their minor is involved in. Privacy is irrelevant when a tragic event like that happens to someone’s child. To my opponents, if this were to happen to a child of yours, but the counselor didn’t let you know, do you think that would be fair? NO. Also, the child’s abuser should be punished. If the parents don’t know about the issue, they can’t file lawsuits or anything against the abuser. Which is another good reason why the law should pass.
ReplyDeleteCons: I am also against this law only because some lives of families are different then others. If the child has complete trust with the counselor then he/she would feel deceived knowing the counselor went behind his/her back telling the parents. Which then will possibly make the patient shut down and not trust anyone with his/her issues anymore. You go to counseling for confidentiality, if that is taken away there would be no reason to go anymore. It all depends on the victim and how he or she wants to handle it. It is a difficult task to achieve but its all about the well being of the victim. If the victim is okay with the parents knowing but scared to let them know, then the counselor can tell them. If the patient isn’t okay with it then the counselor should work on the relationship with the patient and his/her family. Maggie is right about building more trust in families. If the minor has a close relationship with the parents then the minor wouldn’t need counseling from the start.
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ReplyDeleteI support creating the law with amendments. The amendments are if the child is fourteen years of age or older then the child has a say in telling the parents or not, but counselor’s word is final and if the parent is the abuser the counselor will decide who to inform. I believe that this law, without amendments, isn’t the best way to achieve the goal of protecting and helping the children, but if we do have these amendments it will be the appropriate way.
ReplyDeleteThe two best reason against my position are that this law will violate the child’s personal privacy right and the creation of unintended consequences The first amendment I want is the age distinction because at fourteen years of age, children have learned enough to understand what has happened and can have a say in whether the counselor should tell the parent or not. I want this amendment to give a child with enough knowledge the human right of personal privacy. As children gain knowledge they gain rights. I believe that a child doesn’t have the right of personal privacy until they are fourteen and have enough knowledge. Therefore, with the amendment, we do not violate personal privacy of children who have the right. An unintended consequence is the child will be less likely to talk to the counselor. The only children that do not want to tell anyone of their sexual assault are those fourteen and older. Any child younger than that will want to “tattle” on the abuser. Something as atrocious as sexual assault will make any child fewer than fourteen years of age feel the need to talk about it. Those who are fourteen and older are more likely to conceal it if they knew their parents were going to be notified right away. But, with the first amendment, those fourteen and older have a chance to decide if their parents are informed. With parents being informed, stronger relations will be created between child and parent. If this law isn’t created, the unintended consequence will be that assaulters will target children and know that the children cannot do anything if they just talk to the counselor.
I support creating the law with an amendment. I support the law because the fact that someone, that is a minor, who has received sexual abuse, needs adult help. The amendments are if the child is fourteen or older, then they should have a say and that the counselor should have ways to help the family communicate about the assault and figure out what action to take together. Yet, the age of the minor is anyone under eighteen years of age. I think the age where the law should let the minor have a say is at age fourteen. Older teenagers would be more mentally stable to understand what should be done. They should also be able to take it to the police with or without the professional counselor. Whereas minors of age thirteen and under would be confused of what is right and wrong and would not be able to make a sane decision with the trauma they have succumbed to. The counselors should have ways to help the family communicate about the assault if the parent/legal guardian is not the assaulter. Counselors should have figured and studied different ways they can support their patients. They could have sessions with the family or something in that manner.
ReplyDeleteSome may disagree to this law entirely, but why? Some will argue that the confidentiality and trust between the minor and counselor should be considered as top priority. I understand minors trust counselors with such sensitive information and its probably already difficult for the minor to confront or share with his or her parent(s). but if the assaulter is not the parent, the parent should have the right to know how the health of their child and what the child is going through.
I oppose making this a law. The reason I appose this law is because a minor is someone who is under the age of full responsibility. Just because you are a minor legally doesn’t mean that you have not matured past someone in your age group. When I was a minor I didn’t have the best relationship with my parents due to their own problems. I don’t think it’s the best idea to contact the parents until the counselor has fully evaluated the situation completely. The living condition of the home should be evaluated and the relationship between the parents and the child should be analyzed. The most important thing is making sure this sexual assault doesn’t occur again and to make sure the person behind this crime is behind bars. I don’t the think the parents are directly needed to make this happen. I think every situation is different when it comes to the home life. Some parents should be notified immediately and some parents shouldn’t. I think this decision should be made by the counselor and their superior. This is a very serious situation and should be handled with great caution of protecting the child. One point against my position is that the parents should have a right to know everything about their child if they are not involved no matter what, because they are key into helping or making this situation worse.
ReplyDeleteTo- AZSURDE,
ReplyDeleteI disagree with your comment pertaining to the ‘professional’ counselor, which I hope their all professional, having the right to ‘take matters into their own hands’. Like I said in my comment counselors have legal limitations. Depending on the nature of laws that are in effect in a given jurisdiction, the counselor may be required to divulge certain types of information to legal authorities. So their hands are tied, but, loosened a little because of the current law in place. Having a separate meeting with the parents to discuss the sexual matter discovered? Well, what if the parents call the child a liar? What if the parents never return, leaving the state possibly? I agree with you on special measures need to be taken for the protection of the child, but what do we do with the children who suffer exile, suicide, or murdered because of the release of the child’s secrets? I say keep the current law. A counselor, in most circumstances, must acquire a degree and extensive background check before taking any counseling job. So, I assume most counselors are professionals. Maybe we should be looking at the training and hiring process of a counselor instead of changing sensitive laws.
I oppose the law that counselors are required to tell the parents of the victim in question. In many different cultures, if a woman is raped they are seen unclean and tainted, so on top of being tragically raped they could lose their family also. Even if the parents aren’t committing the abuse it doesn’t mean they will handle the situation well. Just because someone is a parent doesn’t mean they are a good parent. The healing process takes time and I feel that if the law is instated it takes away from the power and progress of the individual. The counselor is mean to spend time and get to know their client, while the client is under the impression that their conversations are confidential. In cases of rape, parents seem to be looked upon as outsiders and their child may not be very comfortable opening up to them, because they don’t know what their reaction might be. The law is forcing a situation on the rape victim that they might not like or have a say in, and seeing as how the traumatic situation happened to them I believe they should have a say in the matter. The law is too general too apply to all victims, and will hurt more people than in helps.
ReplyDeleteJeanie was having trouble getting her comment to post, so here it is:
ReplyDeleteIt's a difficult decision to make because as a professional counselor, the child confides in them and puts their trust in them. Some children don't feel comfortable discussing certain topics with their parents so, they share it with someone else who they feel won't judge them. Although, when it comes to their safety, the counselor may be caught in a dilemma. The child's trust is important to them but their safety may over power that. If something worse were to happen to the child, the counselor may feel responsible for not taking action from the beginning with the situation. Being that it may be a hard decision to make, I personally oppose the law. I feel that it ultimately comes down to the child and if they personally choose to tell their parents. If they're already seeing a counselor and sharing that kind of information with them, there's obviously a reason why they're choosing not to tell their parents to begin with. The age of the child also plays a big part in this decision. Clearly if we're talking about a 5 year old, unless the person who has assaulted the child is the parent, then by all means do the parents/guardians have the right to know. However, a 13 year old may feel a lot more different about what should be shared with their parents and what shouldn't. Most children's minds aren't fully developed so, they could feel lost and confused. But, if the counselor is dealing with a teen, that teen could be at the stage where they clearly understand right from wrong and what would be best for themselves. They ultimately have the power to stop the assaults, they can choose to deal with it alone or get help from an adult.
--Jeanie C.
I oppose this law. The reasons for my opposition are that firstly counselors are made to keep a privacy oath for a reason. People like talking about their problems to someone who won’t talk about them to others. Children want their conversations to be kept in confidence. Making this law will definitely affect this policy. This is the last part of my argument in my opposition. There is also the reason, as others have stated, where the parents may be the actual abusers. It is the minors right to tell their parents or not. Though if the minor wanted their parents to know they can always ask the counselor that they would like their parents to know but for the counselor to tell them instead of the minor. Then there is the event that even though the parents may not be the abusers they may deny that their child has been abused or be angry with their child for being abused. That will most likely hinder the situation from progressing positively.
ReplyDeleteThis is all in seeking the most beneficial way to help the minor. Telling the parents is not always the best thing. The counselor should be the first to help the minor since it was told to them first. There should be some sort of programs or something that helps the minor. Be it that they are helped to reveal who their abuser is, help them heal, or if the minor wants it, to help them tell their parents. My concern is that there are just so many different ways families run. There are things to consider like how close minors are to their parents. It is just too much of a risk for some minors that it should not be made to just help those with understanding and helpful parents.
On the other side of my point it’s that parents know best and can help best. By telling parents they can help the situation go along better by being a family and can prevent the abuse if told who it is. It’s been told that abusers are generally those closest to the victim. This is beneficial to the minor but sadly this is not how every family operates and cannot be assumed. As said before, it can just hinder the situation.
Though I am in opposition with this law there should be something created where very young children (under 13) should have their parents be notified. The only way parents should be notified firstly would be to understand the family and discern that the parents are not the abusers. There is also the severity of the situation. How injured is the minor, either mentally or physically. If it is at a way to severe then action must be done.
Assuming that the household is loving, and caring, I support this law as is. If a minor is being sexually assaulted in any form, and it isn’t the parent or guardian, they should be notified. “Minor” was the term given to those under the age of 18 for a reason. One isn’t always equipped to handle the consequences of such traumatic events like being raped or molested, etc. No matter whom the individual, when violated, emotional maturity comes that’s beyond ones control.
ReplyDeleteThe victim may have effects that they don’t understand and can’t be explained by a professional counselor alone, leading everyone into more confusion and further away from getting the end result they want. Under no circumstance would a truly caring parents support, or comfort not be embraced after a traumatic experience. If a parent or guardian knows, not only can they protect their child, but they can just be there in ways that no other person can; so the child doesn’t have to feel isolated or afraid, inside of therapy as well as out. Also if a parent knows what’s going on with his or her child, the situation could be handled in a more delicate way. Leaving a minor whose been sexually assaulted to stand alone after hours could be dangerous. He or she may want to react out of retaliation, and if no one but his or her therapist knows what his or her motive is, what could be next?
I totally understand that there will always be a matter of privacy and respect. There’s nothing a women can understand more than what happens to someone’s body and in between their legs is nobody’s business but their own. However in some extreme cases a person will need to make that significant to someone else of some importance. A victim whose been assaulted would feel most comfortable with the idea of confidentiality, but that’s wrong because more heads are better than one. I also realize that moving forward with this law would increase the chance of no minor coming in for any session at all. Knowing that the only person one could confide in is obligated to tell a parent what’s going on is intimidating and may push the child further away, but in all honesty that’s a chance I would be willing to take. Being able to actually talk to ones parent about something like being sexually assaulted would be a major breaking point for any minor trying to get better. Talking through situations is how we as human beings overcome them, no matter what it is, so talking to someone who loves you as well as won’t judge you cannot possibly leave a minor in any worse a state.
Shanise K.
I strongly oppose the law!The reason people go to see counselors in the first place is because they have something to share that they feel needs a solution or could be too much to handle by themselves, and also they could not share with anybody else that they know.Counselors are there for that job.I feel that's taking away both the victims' privacy and the counselors' jobs.
ReplyDeleteIf the victims wanted their parents to know,then, they would tell them or tell somebody else that is close to their parents.Because it is very likely that the person will let the victim's parents know,and,that would be a smart way of letting their parents know.Let's not forget that incase that child goes out of line,they would think that it's because of what happened to him or her.Some of the parents do not let the issue go and they keep bringing it up.This,in turn, continuously makes the child uncomfortable.How we to know if the law was to become real,the counselors would not disclose even other information about their clients besides the sexual assault?Parents like to ask questions, i think this would make parents ask the counselor so many questions.
The counselor may tell the parents if the child is under 12 years old and he/she has consulted with the child first.That's because if i had a child and she or he was assaulted,i would want to know.However,this does not mean that there are needs to be a law to dictate to counselors how to do their jobs.I feel that counselors are professionals.They know what they are doing, and so if they deem it appropriate they will tell the parents.
I think that this law should be created with an amendment. Parents must have their responsibility with their children. Counselors should tell parents what’s going on with their children so that parents can help the minor. Normally parents are the closest one of the minor. They can talk to their children and help minor psychologically. On the other hand, counselors need to talk to parents first and figure out how to help the minor. Balancing parents psychologically is really important because if parents are not composed, they cannot help the minor. I believe that if the minor is about 14 or younger, they don’t really know what they should or should not do. Therefore, parents must involve in their children’s problem and help them. Counselors are professional but they don’t really know about the minor, so counselors cannot find a best way to help the minor without parents. I don’t agree with this point because even thought minors are young but they still need to have privacy. Parents cannot know something, which minors want to keep in secret. Especially, minors come and tell about their problem with counselors instead of parents; it means minors trust counselors rather than their parents, and they think that counselors can help them as well. I saw a lot of times that when parents know their children had been assaulted, parents were shocked, and they did so many crazy things like making minors more depressed, hit them or curse them pretty bally.
ReplyDeleteTrang Nguyen.
Hello, Jeffrey H. here
ReplyDeleteI opposed the passage of this law. To inform the parents of underage sexual assault victims would ruin the sense of confidentiality that they need to open up to their counselor emotionally and psychologically. The involvement of the parent(s)/guardian(s) would add to an already stressful situation and could inhibit the healing process of the minor.
One of the main reasons for this law to pass is that the minor is the legal responsibility of the parent/guardian. True, adolescents are sometimes have issues making independent, rational decisions, but the decision to go to a counselor would often mean that the minor is uncomfortable and/or afraid of going to their parents for support and guidance. Telling the parent/guardian would then unfairly place an additional psychological burden on a victim in need of a helpful and beneficial environment.
Supporters of this law also say that the informed parent/guardian might be able to give the minor needed support, but the parent's knowledge could also have severe negative effects. For a variety of cultural, religious, and societal reasons, the parent could end up neglecting the child, treating them as a disgrace to the family, or worse.
Due to the varying, numerous problems and loopholes such a law would create depending on the circumstances, no single law can be put into place to address all the issues. It should be left to the licensed, professional counselors to do their job to do whats best to promote the healing of the victim. If the counselor and the child feel prepared to involve the parents, then the should have the choice to do so.
I support the law. When children have been sexually assaulted they will most likely be confused and not know what to do. Children are usually incapable of solving those situations on their own and if they tell a counselor it's probably a cry for help. Even if they don't want their parents to know for whatever reason if the counselor knows that it's for the best of the child he should be obligated to tell the childs parents/guardians.
ReplyDeleteThere are points against this law that say that there will be unintended consequences that can make situations worse for the children for example, Conary commented that in some cultures, if a woman is raped they are seen unclean and tainted, so on top of being raped they child would have more problems with their family. Althoug these situations do occur they occur much less often then situations that telling the childs parents would help. So although this law could cause harm it would overall do more good then bad in most cases.
Luis R.
I oppose the law. Couseling is like Vegas: whatever's said in counseling stays in counseling. Counselors shouldn't be obligated to tell the parents anything. Only with the minor's consent should the counselor speak to the parents. If counselors became obligated by law to tell parents what has happened to their child, kids wouldn't go see the counselor in the first place. The whole reason a sexually assaulted child would talk to a counselor is because the kid doesn't want to talk to his or her parents. If a law like that exsisted, then the counselors would be just like parents and if a kid didn't want their parents to know what happened to them, then kids wouldn't talk to anyone. Now, keeping an incident like sexual assaulted a secret forever is most definately not healthy for a young mind. It's better for anyone who has been sexually asssaulted to tell their story to at least one person than to keep it bottled up, and that's where counselors come in. Counselors are suppose to listen to people's problems and try to help fix them. If telling the parent's is what the child thinks is the right thing to do, then the counselors should tell. But they shouldn't be obligated to tell.
ReplyDeleteOne reason someone might support this law is because telling the parents what happened will be better for the minor in the long run. The minor may not want to tell the parents, but it could be better for them if they do (unless it's the parents who did the assaulting). If the parents know, they will take all action to protect their kid(s) and the children will feel much more safer. The problem with this is that most of the time kids don't want to tell their parents what happened. if kids know that the counselors are going to tell the parents anyway, then the kids won't even bother going to see the counselors and will likely remain quiet forever. That's a bad thing. If a kid went to the counselor knowing that the counselor would tell the parents, then the kid should've just gone to the parents because the parents will know regardless. All of a sudden, counselors will become "someone to tell your parents with."
I disagree with this law because its not fair to the minor. There are consequences when you tell the parents of a victim. The parents might set out for revenge, they might look at their child different, or may not even be there for their child. The law shouldn’t change where the minors privacy is invaded and the parents have to be told, it should be left up to the minor whether they would like there parents to know or not. As a counselor they might feel like its their job to protect the minor, and obligated to tell the parents but it makes it worse for the counselor to go and brake the trust that the minor had with the counselor. Involving the parents may also put more pressure on the child. Some say that not involving the parents is a bad idea because the child needs emotional support from them but I disagree because what if the parent isn’t their for the child, or fails to help the child seek a therapist it will only make matters worse. Also they say that parents should be told because their child needs to be protected in the future BUT if that’s the case why aren’t they already protecting and having a close relationship with their child knowing the consequences and that there are Sick adults in this world. Im open minded about the fact that you could put an age limit on the law, and younger children might need tended to more then a teenager but, its up to the child
ReplyDeleteI support this law because the minor might be in trouble and needs an adults help immediately. But then again I would consider on opposing this law because the minor went to the counselor for a reason that they couldn't talk to their parents about. You should be able to trust a counselor on not telling your parents anything. Also you might think it's not bad and your scared to tell your parents. They might your doing something to cause that assault. For example, if your being abused by your step father and your mom thinks your seducing him. Maybe that person that is assaulting you is threatening you at the same time. I think we should just leave it as it is because no one has complained about it, so we don't have to worry about it. I am debating on passing the law or not.
ReplyDeleteI personally oppose the law;in the first place counselors are there because they have minors who want to share their personal problems with them,so why involve parents in the situation.
ReplyDeleteMinors have the right to their privacy and if in this case parents where told who knows may be some would come up with solutions that not much the ideas of the minors themselves.i think counselors have to ask the minor if they feel comfortable informing the parents cause some children dont feel that comfortable sharing all their private problems with parents and may be feel much more comfortable sharing or talking about their problems with strangers because they believe the strangers.i agree with people who mentioned about telling the problem a parent when the child is under the age of 12 cause most of those minors need help from their parent cause they are not mature enough to handle or deal with the situation themselves but if 12 or above the age then your able to deal with the problem with your counselor without involving your parents.
i also oppose this law cause i think in that this law would denay the counselors rights to make decisions he/she thinks are best for their minor cause if in this case the parent is informed,some parents would want ofcourse to come up with solutions for their child thus refusing the decisions of the counselor,which is seen like disrespecting their duty and rights
Angie and Maggie,
ReplyDeleteMost parents are very protective of their children.There is no way we can tell weather the law to allow the counselor to tell the parents if the child were under 14 years old were implemented,the parents of the older teens would not want also the law revised and include the age group of their kids.Personally,i would appeal.Why protect some group of minors and leave out others?Aren't they all minors?Lets leave the counselors to do their jobs,there is no need to treat them like they do not know when the situation is fit to tell the parents.
Maggie,you said that the whole situation of keeping the teenager's privacy is wrong but i feel differently because the reason a teenager would want privacy is when she is not comfortable with the parents.
Due to the my reasons above,i feel the reasons to support the law with amendement of age factor and privacy are just not enough to implement the law.
I oppose the law, I believe there are better ways to approach the problem without invading the minor’s privacy and taking away the parents’ right of protecting the well being of their child without having the government get involved in issues like this. The government has no right to dictate how a counselor is to do their Job. Each case will be different and you can’t tie them all up under one law, there will always be open loop holes that instead of protecting the minor will in fact endanger them. The counselor should come to a reasonable solution with the minor and persuade him/her in to telling the parents about what is going on and help them all together reconcile and form a stronger bond between them.
ReplyDelete-Mel E.
In response to JMadison:
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, if I was a parent I would want to know what is happening to my child because in my mind I am the one that knows what is best for my own kid, but there are always exceptions to parents who are not fit and you have to think about different scenarios. For example the religious issue that was brought up in class, if the counselor was to tell the parents, it would endanger the minor.
Very good job so far, everyone - I'm very impressed with the general level of the discussion.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget that in your original post, you should bring up two very strong arguments against you and carefully address them! Several of you forgot to do that, or addressed only one argument.
If you neglected to address opposing arguments, just add a second comment below, and explain that you're completing your first comment.
A couple of comments also seem to have gotten cut off in the middle - be sure to go back and reread your comment, and make sure it's complete.
Keep up the good work!
Marc,
ReplyDeleteYou’re only looking at this law from one perspective. In any case where a minor finds themselves confiding in a counselor, should not be compared to Vegas. Counseling is supposed to be a safe environment for the patient, a place where one can get help or guidance. As I’ve stated before, I get that there’s a matter of privacy, but when dealing with a minor, nothing is private. It may not be that the victim DOESN’T WANT to tell his or her parents, they just might not know how. Getting help from a parent is different than getting professional help; a child is able to break through more barriers with a loving parent than any educated professional. Even though you’re absolutely right in saying that it isn’t healthy for a young mind to keep an incident like being sexually assaulted to themselves, but don’t you think it would be nice if the parent could get involved as much as possible? For a parent to be kept in the dark about their child being touched inappropriately is a blatant “f*** you,” so it should be an obligation to notify them. Even if the child gets upset about telling them, no bad will come out of it, as far as what’s in best interest for the child’s being. Stop thinking about what the victim may want for the moment. Look at it in the long run; what would really help the healing process??
Shanise K.
Mari
ReplyDeleteI decided to comment on your post mainly because I was a little confused on your stands. Your opening statement states that you’re FOR implementing the law but immediately after it appears you cite reasons you oppose the law. You mention in the first sentence that you “support this law because the minor might be in trouble and needs an adults help immediately.” I definitely agree with you on this point, but I think maybe you should clarify what you mean as “adults” a little further next time, because although I’m with you on minors needing adult help in this situation, isn’t it true that the “professional counselor’s” are adults themselves? I actually liked your post and agree with you on most points. You did kind of lose me though with your example of the stepfather, and mom thinking the child is seducing him. Sounds interesting and wish you would have elaborated on it a bit more. All things considered, I think you had a good post and brought up some excellent points, just think you may want to be a little more specific next time.
-Ryan J
Marc,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on your point on the law. They shouldnt be obligated to tell the parents, and the child may not tell the counselor if they know that the counselor will tell anyway. One thing ive realized is that it might be a good thing to try and have the parents come in with the child to give the child more support, but When the child is ready. To break a childs trust will also hurt them in the long run because they will feel like they cant trust no one professional or not and thats not okay for them to feel like they need to keep their mouth shut. That may cause them to lash out in other ways or even have a change of behavior; negatively.
-Caneisha F.
Koy S.
ReplyDeleteI oppose the law because privacy is an important human right. I do understand and agree with the basis of this law which is an attempt to protect minors who cannot choose for themselves; however confidentiality is being broken in this case. Regardless of whether the parent or guardian is the abuser or not, the choice of disclosure is up to the victim. Instead the law should be tweaked so that the counselors are obligated to ask the victim certain questions regarding the parents; if they are the abusers, if they already know, how they might react to the news, etc. They would also be encouraged to include parents in sessions with the victim’s approval. It should be discussed between the counselor and victim, but the decision should ultimately be made at the discretion of the victim. This way the victim retains their right to privacy and the counselor gets a chance to include the parents.
Two reasons to approve the law are that minors don’t have the mental capacity and maturity to make decisions for themselves in these situations and parents should have the right to know about these events. I believe that minors below the age of 14 should have more help in making the decision; however teenagers are mature enough. In fact the brain’s ability to make rational decisions isn’t fully developed until one is in their late twenties. So if that were taken into consideration, would a college student also lose their right to make the decision for herself/himself? The second reason is assuming that the victim comes from a loving and healthy family. That sometimes isn’t the case and sometimes can be an dangerous assumption to make.
I oppose the law because I think if minor was sexually assaulted, he should tell it to his parents by himself as soon as possible. He need to tell his parents by himself. professional counselor do not need to connect his parents. Every parents love their children,and there is no parents want to damage their children, so minor should tell their parents immediatedly. It is the best and fasttest way to let minor to get help, then the minor can have the happy mood back to school. I don't think the way that minors ask professional counselor to tell minors parents about their child was sexually assaulted is correct. If minor tell to his counselor that he has been sexually assaulted, and then sounselor connect his parents, minor will miss the best opportunity to get comfort, and also his parents would feel so bad, they would say why our kid did not say it to us. I think that there are two main point in the case we should decide. The first focal points of contradictions is when minor meet this problem, who need to know at first, professional counselor or parents. The answer should be parents.Minor's parents should know the thing, but the thing should be express by the minor, not counselor. It is the reason why I oppose the law. I think minor should tell his parents at first, when he have been sexually assault. The second point, does minor have to tell someone about he have been sexually assault. My answer is yes. If minor do not want to tell anyone about he was assaulted, he would never get help. This problem can be solved by minor's parents and minor, why minor must put his counselor into this case? If more and more people know the thing, minor will feel higher philosophy pressure. Therefore, only two persons who know the thing is always better than three persons. Actually, some minors do not trust their parents, they can tell their professional counselor something but they never tell parents anything. I just want to say if you do not believe your family, who you can believe else. Therefore, my opinion is that minor needs to let his parents know it, but they do not need to tell counselor at first. If counselor know the thing at first, he must help the minor and try to let minor's parents know it by minor-self.
ReplyDeleteI oppose creating the law as written for the following reasons. Firstly, I feel the law disregards the minor's privacy. One must consider the minor's reasons for coming to a counselor and not their parents about an issue in the first place. By forcing counselors to report information entrusted to them, we are eliminating a safe haven for minors to come and openly speak about their problems. Secondly, each sexual assault case varies and must be dealt with differently. As such, a standard call of action for counselors won't meet the different needs of the minors.
ReplyDelete"But, the parents must be informed to better protect their child" was an opposing point I feel was important. But, I still feel that every child has a different set of parents that the counselors may or may not know, and we can't assume those parents will do what is best for the minor. Another point was something to the extent of, "Parents deserve the right to know what happens to their child." But again, I feel that's wrong because it strips the minor of all privacy.
Wenyi,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you on that point, a minor's reasons for not telling his/her parents must be given some weight. Sexual assault is a very private and emotional issue, it should not be forced out of the dark by anyone.
Response to Wenyi He
ReplyDeleteI decided to respond to your post because I am with you about children being able to tell their parents, but in reality a child in most cases is to afraid and not capable to understand what is going on when they are being abused. They sometimes feel like it is their fault and by telling their parents they will get into trouble because they are doing something wrong. If they see a counselor it is because they have trouble dealing with what is happening in their lives and in most cases children feel more comfortable talking to someone outside the family. In a perfect world the child would trust their parents and tell them about their problems but sadly that’s not the case. I think a professional counselor has the ability and has been trained to comfort the child and make them feel safe and they can help the child deal with their sexual abuse by involving their parent so it can be stopped.
Hi, Wenyi He
ReplyDeleteI also completely agree with your opinion that minor should tell his parents at first by himself. The main point is that minor need to say something to his parents by himself. They cannot depand on their counselor to connect their parents because parents and child are a family. Only parents can promise never harm their children. Talking about the privacy between minor and his parents is always better than putting counselor in the case. The relation between child and parents is different from the relation between counselor and child's parents. Child can say everything to his parents, but counselor cannot do it.Therefore, the best way is that child and parents can sit together and directly make a communication.
What an interesting Dialog!
ReplyDeleteIn my original post on this issue, I came out against this law. My primary reason was that we already had laws in place that would funnel knowledge of the sexual assault of minors to their parents so why spend more money on a new needless law.
For the sake of clarity, let me say that if we didn’t have these laws in place I would be in FAVOR of passing a law like this with 1 amendment. The amendment would be that if the minor was 14 years old or older, the counselor would give serious credence to any COMPELLING objections the minor had to notifying the parents. When I say compelling, I mean it would have to be a VERY good reason; like they would be shunned from their family or possibly physically endangered.
The reason I feel this way is because I feel that counselors should promote relationships between parents and children. If a child has apprehension about sharing something like this with their parents then that needs to be dealt with NOT side stepped.
MAHAK – You are right to want to protect as much privacy as a minor can have, but your statement that this law would strip a minor “of all privacy”, is false. This law would deal with privacy issues regarding a very grave situation – not all situations. Could it lead to a lack of privacy in other scenarios? Sure, and we would have to work to safe guard privacy for youths wherever needed.
I feel a parent has right to know what is going on in their children’s lives. After all, they are the ones who are legally and morally responsible for them. If parents are to be held responsible for the child’s well being, then they have a right to know what’s going on. Do I think parents should go nosing around in their children’s rooms and belongings? No. But we are not talking about the minor indiscretions of youth. Sexual assault is an exponentially more grave issue.
Dear Maggie,
ReplyDeleteBefore reading your post, I had felt that a single law such as this could not possibly address such a complicated issue, but I'm beginning to think that the enactment of a law with just the right set amendments, could improve the lives of the victims and their families. I completely agree that the professional counselor should hold a large amount of responsibility when it comes to assessing the circumstances involved and using that information to better promote the healing process of the victim and the relationships within their family. Even if they are not required by a law, counselors should be encouraged to have dedication to their profession and to helping those who seek their assistance.
Thank you,
Jeffrey H.
Dear Zhisen Qian
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. I think that creating the law cannot help minors solve their philosophy problems because different minor has different situation. Sometime, counselor cannot explain very clearly with minor's parents, because there are long distances between counselors and parents. minors and their parents are closer each other. They can say everything no matter what happened. The law is not very powerful. Some minors want some adults to help them, and someone wants to keep silence. I also agree with your opinion that the psychologists are the best choice because researching philosophy is their majors. Minor should make more communications with psychologists, when minor have been sexually assault. Finally, all adults need to know that they have much responsibility help and save minors, so adults need prudence to deal the matter.
I disagree with what AzSurde about the fact that councilors have the right to solve the problem for the minor because of the fact that even though they are professional they can make a mistake and it is still not their decision to make. The councilor can guide the minor to make the right decision but the decision should be the minors.
ReplyDeleteTo Maggie Souza:
ReplyDeleteYou say that keeping the youth’s privacy is wrong and that the parents have to deal with the legal consequences of their child’s actions, which is true, but the child also has to deal with consequences of the parent’s actions/reaction to the rape situation. The negative consequences of having to tell the parent’s outweigh the ones of not telling the parents, but your second amendment helps clear up the mishaps that could happen if it was required to tell the parent’s that their child was raped.
To Shanise:
You said it may not be that the victim doesn’t want to tell the parents its just they may not know how. I think the counselors are there so the child in question can talk to the counselor because they don’t know how to talk to their parents, and believe the conversations they have are confidential. If the child can start opening up to the counselor then maybe they can slowly start opening up to their parents, and having a law that requires the counselor to tell the parents can jeopardize the entire healing process. Someone else’s privacy is a sensitive to be in charge of.
Conary Eliot
I support this law with amendments because with out some type of law on this topic some crimes would go on and on. First of all I believe that the counselor should find out who was the abuser in order to take the appropriate decision.
ReplyDeleteIf the counselor finds out that the parents of the kid are the abusers. Then in that case the counselor should take actions according to the kid’s age. If the kid is under 12 years old then the counselor should just report the crime to the authorities with out the kid’s permission. Now if the kid was to be 12 years or older then the counselor should try to persuade the kid to report the abuse himself to the authorities or to get the kid’s consent so that he/she could report the abuse.
In the other hand if the counselor finds out that the parents weren’t the abusers. Then he/she should still follow the same restriction with the age range. If the kid is under 12 years old then the counselor should let the parents know what is going on so that him along with the parents could come to take the best decision to help the kid. How ever if the kid is 12 years or older then the counselor should try to persuade the kid onto opening up to his parents an telling them what is going on. Then the counselor should bring the all in as a family for a family session, so that the counselor could help and prepare the parents so that they could support and understand the kid.
I think the law with this amendments would work better because just simply telling the parents with out the counselor finding out who the abuser was first could put the kid at risk if the parents happen to be the abusers and also with the counselor just telling the parents with out taking in consideration the kids age and bothering to get the kid's consent to tell the parents would just be a violation of privacy.
Jose Ayala
In response to Vincent/Mel E:
ReplyDeletePrivacy is a human right. That is true. But as you obtain more knowledge you understand and obtain more rights. Children who are thirteen and younger do not what personal privacy and do not need it. They need their parents’ love and attention that is why they do not have personal privacy. I believe this law does not take away parents right of protecting their children. It empowers that right because the parents want to know what is troubling their child and get to the bottom of it. It is true that their may be different cases but this law with amendments that I have stated will cover the majority of cases. Our professor even said that we must assume that most families are caring and sane beliefs. One of my amendments agrees with what you believe the counselor should do. I agree that the counselor should have ways in improving the relationship between the parents and child. The exceptions are something we should not worry about. We must do as much as we can to seal up the loopholes and with my amendments I believe I’ve done just that. Sure, there may be cases where the parents are not fit and religious idea, but we must assume that the family is sane and normal, as stated by out professor. If this law isn’t put in place, then the loophole will be that sexual assaulters will target children who are not close with their parents and we will have a counselor who is handicapped because all they can do is talk to the child.
Jennifer Madison
In response to Ash_Trinh:
ReplyDeleteI understand that it is a human right of confidentiality. But, a child who has not learned enough does not need privacy. Any child who is under thirteen years of age doesn’t want anything more than their parents to be involved in their lives. Yet, that changes when they have reached the age of fourteen. They want their parents completely out of their lives. If this law is emplaced and the children will not lose respect of their counselors because, with the counselor informing the parent and speaking to the parent and child, a reasonable solution can be forged and the parents, and only the parents, can take action against the assaulter. If the parent is the assaulter, then the counselor will decide what to do. It is true that this world is not perfect and that there will be terrible parents, but, our professor, stated that we must assume that the families we help are loving and caring. We can’t help all, but we can help most. The situations with bad parents are “What if” situations. If the parent is the assaulter then the counselor will decide what action to take against the parent, which is stated in my second amendment. I understand that a counselor needs to respect their patient’s confidentiality, but an act as tragic as sexual assault to a minor must have severe action be taken and the parent or counselor will do just that.
Please clarify this statement. “Don't you think children under the age of 14 don't really know the concept of sexual assault?” It is true some children do not know what is going on. But, children receive the sex video at age ten. I still remember watching that video when I was in fifth grade (eight years ago). Children will be aware of what hurts them and sexual assault does hurt. When I was in elementary school, the teacher was someone we could talk to and if not the teacher would send the child to a counselor. I had counselors at my elementary school. I did not attend a private school. I attended Hannah Ranch Elementary. You do not give children enough credit for their knowledge. Sexual assault would hurt the child and the child would want to inform someone because they do not want to be hurt. Children have enough knowledge to know when someone is touching their “private parts.” It is true that the assaulter will create large trauma in the child but, they still will know when they are being touched the wrong way. It is true that some parents are unfit to be parents but, again, we must assume that the families we are trying to help with this law are loving and sane. A stranger cannot tell a child to take off his/her clothes without force because, even to this day, parents say don’t talk to strangers. It is true that the child may withhold the information at times pertaining to the assaulter, but the counselor is educated enough to pull that information out, convince the child that their parent cannot do this to them and let the counselor take the appropriate action. In my elementary, middle, and high school, any child who was acting strange was sent to have a talk with the counselor. I only went to public schools. They are, Hannah Ranch Elementary, Hercules Middle, and Hercules High. This law needs to be emplaced with amendments because it is better to take action then do nothing and without it we handicap the counselor to only talking to the child. It is true there may be different families, but our professor stated we must assume that they are loving and protective. As the California Legislature, we can’t help everyone, but we can do our best to help the majority.
Gabriel Pel
I have to say that i oppose to this law. i feel as if every human has their rights and a child is no exception. If a child chose to go to a counselor and open up to them instead to their parents in the beginning, then there is a reason why they didnt want to tell their parents at all or maybe they're just not ready. I dont think anyone would want to force someone to talk about what they are going through because its putting alot of pressure and stress on the victim again. Whoever goes to a counselor should be able to trust them! If the child is in any danger a counselor could probably persuade the child in telling their parents themselves, because some people say that childrens, such as minors "are not fully developed or aware yet" but anyone in their right mind should be able to persuade "a child" to tell their parents if they are being/will be harmed.
ReplyDelete-JennyS
Koy s.
ReplyDeleteI really do agree with your post because the minors should have there own privacy. That will be a good idea to have session with the parents. Also the counselors should ask the minors questions and see there reaction and that would be noticeable that the parents would be the abusers. It also includes the age limit because minors wouldn't know what to do without an adults help.
Kristy C.
ReplyDeleteYou made an interesting point about developing parent/child relationships. If the parents/guardians have a healthy relationships with their children by having open communication then the child would not have to seek outside help without the acknowledgment of the parents. Assuming that the minor is above 14, eventually the child and parent will have seek help from a professional to cope better with the situation.
I oppose the law I feel that already as of 2011 we have no privacy. I feel that if a child is being abused or violated and if they are talking to a counselor and the counselor goes and tell the parent/guardian then that is invading the the privacy of one another. I feel that the law that we have now protect us in some many ways that going against will only make the world a much horriable place. Kids or teenagers open up to counselors for so many reasons like for 1. they can't talk to parents, friends, teachers, or family members because they are afraid of being judge or humilated also if they are not talkin to them its for a reason. As a counselor job them keeping kids or teenagers business confidental from the beg will help whoever is being asulted open up to them. I feel counselors and thoese who have jobs keeping information confidental are the only people in the world who can hold secrets or ect the person as a counselor is the protector.
ReplyDelete@ RJ/JENNY S.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what u stated about victims not wanting to go to their parents/guardian and going to a counselor but I don't agree with the part of them not being ready. I feel that if they are not speaking to however has custody over them then its a reason why? maybe trust? lack of communication ect but I feel everybody know when they are ready and are not. I don't care what no one says if a little kid was out on a play ground and got slaped by a classmate and told then if a little kid is being abused or sexually asulated they would also tell. No matter the age we as humans know right from wrong and wrong from right.
I oppose this law. The first step in the healing process is to be able to be honest about what is going on in someone’s life. Having something so tragic happen to someone so young sets up a lot of trust issues. They need someone who is on their side that is “sworn” to secrecy. Someone who they can be open and honest with knowing that it would be worked out between them and the counselor.
ReplyDeleteI find this especially relevant if the child is being abused by a parent. There is no way they would be able to tell anyone about what is happening to them. Perhaps the counselor could gain the trust of the victim enough, that he or she will report what is happening to them to authorities.
After reading some of the comments, I have changed some of my views. If the child, as someone else said, comes from a loving home, then it is okay for the counselor to approach the parents, but only with the child's permission. Remember, we are dealing with trust issues. The child is the one who has to live with what's going on with them. If their parents are not supportive, it may cause further damage.
ReplyDeleteWow! I was just writing for twenty minutes, pressed "preview", instead of “post comment", and I have 15 minutes left- yes professor, I now remember you saying to type it in word, so here I am.
ReplyDeletePosition: No law should be made, concerning this topic.
Reasons: 1. The laws we have are already too many, and the unintended consequences, combined with the intended, yet inefficient are too many to the 33rd power.
2. Every individual human being only has control over how we think, feel, and act (this is where ethos, logos, and pathos should be understood, and practiced) ; the ultimate deciding factor of what will happen beyond this is far beyond what any of us can control.
Charity E.
ReplyDeleteResponse to Sylvie,
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of what you stated. By telling the parents, it could become awkward with their child and will definitely cause disarray in the family. Then the parents may think the child is hiding more things and may pester the counselor. The counselor is a professional that went to school to understand the many issues that could be involved with professional counseling. They should have some understanding in the situation of a minor being assaulted and know some way to help that minor.
The only slight thing I didn’t agree with was that maybe perhaps a law should be made on this subject. It is very delicate situation. There are laws already made on the circumstances that if a minor confessed to committing a murder to their counselor and what the counselor should do. This is in some states only from what I know. Since this is another delicate issue in the privacy of counseling, something has to be done to address the problem and to help these minors. The law that could be created would be if the minor is very young, under 13 or so, and after discerning the state of the family and that the parents are not the abusers, they should be informed. Very young children do not understand sexual abuse. They may most likely not know they have been assaulted. They may at best understand that what happened to them was not suppose to be allowed but not understand it. So in order for it to possibly be stopped the parents ought to be notified so they may help prevent it and help their child.
As for my second point on the opposite argument I wasn’t really able to find one I disagreed with. I guess I would have to saw privacy really is not the most important component to this law. It is helping the minor best first.
-Diana J.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI oppose the law because I feel the parents shouldn't be informed unless the minor chooses to inform them. One could say having the parents informed isn't always in the minor's best interest because the parents might just add to the problem. Instead of helping heal and protect their child they may blame their child or even just disregard the incident. Initially if the minor wanted to inform his/her parents they would do so instead of seeking guidance from their counselor. Counselor's can encourage the minor to tell his/her parents only as an option. In a situation like this minor needs to feel like they can confide in someone who won't judge them or make them feel uncomfortable. I feel that the counselor should take steps to help the child cope through the incident and feel protected which doesn't necessarily mean informing the parents.
ReplyDeleteSo, this is interesting, whether or not I get credit, as I only have 1 minute left, Most everyone (it was a pleasure to go through all of your thoughts, feelings, and opinions)is opposed; those who are for the law, only 4 people did not feel a necessity for, at least, one amendment.
ReplyDeleteAfter seriously considering all that is written here so far, and probably lastly, the two strongest points to the "pro" side, wherein both would have amendments are:
1. The minors suffering, in most cases, could be resolved at the "appropriate" time.
2. The parents, in the case where they are "loving" (as 12Grateful put it) and capable, would have a clear understanding, from the counselor (trusting that this counselor has a clear understanding), as to what their child is experiencing, and what the be best ways are to assist this child through his, or her process.
These are two very important and strong considerations, very strong, although they are not strong enough to persuade me from my position- The laws we have are already too many, and the unintended consequences, combined with the intended, yet inefficient are too many to the 33rd power.
Charity E.
ReplyDeleteChan S.
ReplyDeleteI support the law as written because it just seems right. You should inform
the parents about the sexual assault because if no one is told about it,
it can happen again. It's like your asking for it to happen. Especially
if the child is under 13 and doesn't understand anything about sex or anything.
He/she will just let it happen, without knowing that they are being sexually
assaulted. Lets say that the child was being sexually assaulted by a teacher
from their elementary school and he doesn't know whether it's right or not.
He might just let it continually happen. If know one is notified, where will
the action be taken, and how long will it happen? How long will the child
be assaulted with someone being told? It might not just hurt the child
physically but mentally as well.
Dear Maggie,
ReplyDeleteI completely understand where you are coming from about how now a day children can’t even confide in their own parents and how you said it is a major problem. But at the same time, I feel it depends on each child’s situation and their family backround. I came from a family that never talked about problems in general. So in a situation like this, I could never tell my parents anything. I know what you mean about the “sense of belonging” and I found that with counselor s, friends and close relatives. I disagree about the isolation part on my behalf because the more independent I was, the stronger I became. Additionally, I gained more self confidence and relied on myself through many situations. Yes, family is important don’t get me wrong, that is why I believe it just depends on each individual’s case.
Dear Kristy Culverhouse
I completely agree with your statement of how counselors should promote relationships between parents and children. I do believe that parents should know what is going on with the children’s lives, but if there is a good enough reason why they don’t want to tell their parents about an extreme situation like this then counselors should have the right to just go off and tell them.
Like I said before, I will still oppose this law or support it under the amendments I listed. But to add another amendment I think that there should be a good enough REASON to why counselors MUST tell the parent, otherwise keep the confidentiality there.
Response to Wenyi He,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that minors will be the one who tell to their parents, not counselors. It’s because it can make parents feel so bad. Also, if minors trust counselors rather than their parents to tell about their probem and then the counselors tell everything to the parents, it means the counselors cannot keep secret. Will any one want to trust the counselors again? i don’t think so. If minors tell to counselors that he has been assaulted, and counselors think that a best way for that case is telling to minors’ parents. The couselors can talk to minors and recommend minor to tell everything to parents.
~Trang Nguyen~
Hey Chan
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your point of view about the parents having the right to now in order to help the kid. But don’t u think maybe making some changes in the law will make it better, because like for example u talked about the kid being under 13 years old and not knowing what is going on but how about the kids that are over 13. Don’t you think in that case if the counselor told the parents with out the kid’s permission that would be like breaking that confidentiality between the kid and the counselor?
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteTerrific discussion - I'm really very impressed with the level of discourse, and many of your are bringing up really insightful and interesting points.
Not sure where people are getting the idea that I said we should work on the assumption that all parents will be loving and caring - I may have pointed out that it was an assumption people *were* making with a particular argument, but I certainly did not mean to imply that it's an assumption we *should* make. Around 1,500 children are killed by their parents every year. In consequence, it would be an absolute denial of reality to make such an assumption, and it's always a very, very bad idea to base public policy on false beliefs.
In response to Gabe Pel--
ReplyDeleteI understand that you're thinking about the majority of the people instead of every individual.
It's like saying, kill some, save the rest.
I don't know about you, but I think that we have to comprehend every individual's situation because not all of them are the same.
You mentioned that you learned about sex at 10 years old, but I do recall getting a form from school notifying the parents/gaurdians that they will be discussing those kinds of things with the students. In other words, parental consent is required. Those who get a signature stating that the parents DON'T want their kids learning about this will be moved to another classroom or won't attend the event.
Maybe my memory is a bit foggy, but I don't remember watching a video about sex or having the sex talk with anyone.
And what about the kids who don't know? Those who are not informed about sex? Kids are developing differently nowadays. Introverted children may not talk about their issues like extroverts. And who's to say those introverts are not just shy?
We must consider all of the possibiities. We can't ignore little factors like that.
Thank you.
-Ashley T.
Sylvie:
ReplyDeleteTo your response to my amendment dealing with age:
I understand and agree with you that having an amendment about age can be slippery. There will be parents that would want their kids to be included in another side. Yes they are all minors but you wouldn't say that a 9 year old has the same mental or emotional capacity as a 16 year old. I'm no scientist but there are obviously very big psychological differences between young children and older teens. I believe that if this law is implemented, for the better sake of young children, that older teens' mental triumph should be awarded by having some privacy rights.
AND in response to your initial post/opinion I also completely understand what you're saying about counseling being like a safe haven. That is why in my amendment minors who truly understand the meaning behind counseling and what understand what privacy is are exempt from the law. In your initial argument you mention that kids over 12 may be exempt from that law...so you understand there should be some sort of age limit if the law is put into action. The law does violate privacy of young children in that sense, but how much privacy should a young (under 12) kid have?
=)
Angelique (Angie) V.
To Anthony and Mahak,
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of you. I think the counselors should definitely analyze the minors parent/guardian before deciding to inform them as this would be best for the minor. I very much agree with Mahak's statement, "By forcing counselors to report information entrusted to them, we are eliminating a safe haven for minors to come and openly speak about their problems." I think if the counselors broke their bonds of trust with the minors, the minors would never openly share their problems. And as Anthony stated this is a very serious matter that should handled with caution. One thing I would have to disagree with is Anthony's statement on the parents having the right to know no matter what because they are the key to helping OR making the situation worse. I don't think the parents should b informed if they are just going to make the situation worse. I don't see how that would help the minor in the situation in any way. So i feel that the parents should only be informed if it'll be beneficial for the minor.
Dear Chan S.
ReplyDeleteI kinda understand what you are trying to say, but the statement says that "counselors who learn that a minor in their care has been sexually assaulted are obligated to tell the minor's parent(s)/guardian(s) about the assault", which i think you are leading your case that you think the best choice for the sexually assaulted victim is to tell their parents? I was looking for reasons upon why a counselor should tell a parent...which i oppose! i feel that you continuously say that "if no one is told about it" couldnt that "no one" be the counselor too? The sexually assaulted victim should have a choice to tell only the counselor if they wanted to. As you said, the victim could be young and not know about sex and all, but a counselor can reassure the "child" about the wrongs and right, then maybe the child would tell their parent.
-JennyS
Dear AndyA
ReplyDeletei know parents have the right to know all the business of their child,but not all the children are gonna be free with their parents cause as some people mentioned some families are not that close to share all their personal problems.meaning it depends in the family you were raised from.
And on the other hand of counselors,think when your are a professional counselor and you know well wants all about your job,you cant go behind the back of your minor and tell his/her parents if they dont want you too.cause in the first place he or she came to you cause they trusted you would keep their problem private and all you talked about concerning that problem.
Patience.M.
@ Jose Ayala
ReplyDeleteyeah at first i was completely against the law, but now i see how having the amendments can help. its a bad idea to have the law completely as written, but having the age limit can prove helpful to a child who is reluctant to tell his/her parents. Whether the kid wants their parents to know or not, it could be better for them in the long run (of course, assuming the parents are not the abusers). Finding out the information of the case is vital, rather than just knowing there was an attack. I realize that by just throwing away the law, a shy kid might not tell anyone what has happened forever, and that's a bad thing.
Marc Castillo