A trusted adult can gain a child’s access and affection by building trust with parents and integrating into family life. When that adult later engages in sexual activity with the child, the earlier trust-building can be part of grooming. The harm includes betrayal and added trauma because the child expected safety from someone they trusted. Even if the adult involved does not feel bothered now, the impact on the child can still be significant. The term grooming is used specifically for adults who sexually violate children, not for unrelated meanings. The situation can feel especially unsettling when the adult remains connected to the family and is repeatedly mentioned by a parent.
"When a pedophile insinuates himself into a family's life, earning the trust of the parent or parents and the affections of the child, that is a grooming situation. To be sexually abused by someone you thought you could trust adds another layer of trauma for the victim."
"I realize words don't have fixed meanings anymore, TOE, but I feel like this particular word - when used to refer to the actions of adults who sexually violate children and not giant machines that prepare ski slopes - still means something very specific."
"Worse yet, children being sexually abus"
Read at Portland Mercury
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