A spike in sexual assaults against teenage girls at school, online, and at home raises concern

You may have seen so many empowering messages from sexual violence experts that our girls are not broken despite their ordeals, but the question is how far it will go. The recent news shared on the BNN news network shows that no woman is safe in society, be it at work or even at home. Some adolescent girls are assaulted at school, while others are targeted at home during a lockdown. A woman has to go through a lot after she is born, and the only reason is the mindset of some people in society. They may get punished for the act, but the mental wounds that a girl goes through are beyond explanation.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released a report that showed a high wave of sadness and grief among teenage girls, with a spike of nearly 21% in 2021. According to the report, there were victims of violent sexual behavior, and more than one in every ten people was raped.

The data that says it all:

Women of different ages endure a higher number of sexual assaults as compared to men. The closer data made by the experts shows that young girls’ numbers are high due to being the victims of forced sex, which even spiked in today’s time up to 200,000, which cannot be ignored.

The CDC has also come up with a survey on youth risk behavior that shows more than 17,000 U.S. high school students are victims every year. The responses that were gathered in 2019 showed an estimation of 850,000 high school girls reporting being raped. However, by 2021, the estimate had risen to more than one million.

What do the experts have to say?

Dr. Debra Houry, who is the chief medical officer of the agency, shows her disappointment with the spike but is not surprised. Sexual violence has always been a problem that every girl has to deal with at some point in her life. Even if other NGOs and organizations step forward to provide help, not much progress is done. The proportion of boys who are raped is unchanged from 2011 to 2021. The CDC survey did not include interviews with teenagers about the circumstances of the assaults or when they occurred, but the data do not appear to show a significant number.

It is a known fact that sexual assaults occur in schools, and teens who spent most of their time in 2020 and 2021 at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic still became victims.

A vulnerability that increased due to the pandemic

Many people have the misconception that young people stay safe at home. However, there has been a lot of sexual abuse and sexual assault among the young from their close relationships. The medical director of emergency and consultation liaison, Dr. Willough Jenkins, stated that the pandemic did not stop the young girl’s exposure to people. Rather, there had been cases that increased the level of expertise during the lockdown at home.

Teenagers were more vulnerable to the pandemic than to other forms of violence. The remote schooling left them more isolated from their friends and trusted teachers, so they sought advice from them.

There had been many reports of cybersexual violence like online stalking and sexual harassment, while the threats and messages of sexual assault were at their peak. Furthermore, the increase in drug and alcohol use among adults and caregivers with complete freedom was the cause of such cases.

Conclusion:

With this report, the BNN news network can only hope that such young people get better protection and the freedom to live without fear. Today’s girls still feel insecure, whether at home, in class, or driving to and from school.