The World I Want for my Daughters

Country Fried Mama is hosting a blog carnival on the subject of "The World I Want for my Children".
“The world I want for my children” is an effort to support The Joyful Heart Foundation, which was founded by Law & Order: SVU actress Mariska Hargitay to help victims of sexual assault mend their minds, bodies and spirits and reclaim their lives.  Today, the foundation is at the forefront of an effort to end a disheartening backlog of tens of thousands of rape kits in labs across the country, a backlog that contributes to a rapist’s 80 percent chance of getting away with his crime.  The backlog and its detrimental effects will be the topic of an SVU episode on September 29^th. 

 
 

When I decided to participate in this I considered our immediate world. The part of the world we directly inhabit and what I wish for my daughters as the girls they are and the women they will become. Later I thought about the world surrounding them as well as who and what they will choose to surround themselves with. I want them to be healthy in mind, body and spirit and I want no one to try to take that away from them.


In the world I want for my daughters they will be free to move about without fear.

I want them to feel safe in their own home.  I want them to be safe in their own home.

They will be able to have fun at large scale events without the worry of being attacked by someone feeling invincible by the size of the crowd or consumption of alcohol.

I want them to never be degraded sexually by the words of others when they show strength or courage.

I want them never to use the words "slut" or "whore" to universally describe another female.

I want them to freely be confident without holding back.
I want for them to never stay quiet for fear of confrontation.
I want for them to want to be liked. I want them to never betray their true selves for popularity. I would love for them to live in a world where they do not see others around them doing so.

I want them to know how to defend themselves. I want for them to never hold back in doing so.

I want them to have empathy towards others, and their intentions to generally be good.

I want them to apologize when they should. I want for them to never apologize for or minimize their strengths and abilities.

In the world I want for my daughters, no newscaster will ever refer to the sexual assault of a child as "intercourse with" a child.
No journalist will ever print words indicating a rapist "had sex with" a child.
Any time an adult touches a child in a sexual manner it is an assault. An adult who physically harms a child in a sexual manner is a rapist.

In the world I want for my daughters, rape and sexual assault will never be minimized. Such offenses will be fully and immediately prosecuted and the crime will be recognized as a heinous one with harsh long term penalties.

I have no dream that sexual crime will be ever be eradicated in our world.