Kids need to know proper names for all their body parts

What you are about to read is an example of what might occur during interviews with children about alleged sexual assault: “They touched me there.” “I am sorry … but you have to be more specific. Where did they touch you?” “They touched my flower.” Our society lacks the commitment to teach the correct terminology for genitalia to children. Most adults use ambiguous terms due to lack of knowledge and the possibility of embarrassment. Without sexual education, how is a child supposed to inform someone about sexual assault or violence?

Any child can tell you when they were touched on their head, knees, or toes, but when it comes to their vagina, penis, breasts, or testicles, many can’t. Instead, they use ambiguous terms like flower, poom-poom, sword or privates.

Children lacking the names for human anatomy prevents investigators from obtaining the necessary information needed to properly charge offenders during sexual abuse trials.

In addition, researchers found that children who can comfortably and correctly identify all body parts are less likely to be victims of sexual assault. We know what we could and should be doing. But we aren’t doing it. Despite the Quebec education minister promoting sexual education as being essential to learning, a prominent member of the Montreal’s Catholic Church believes that children before 12 are sexually dormant. Therefore, introducing any sexual material to children is imposing knowledge that counters the values of the Catholic Church. Why is a prominent member of the Catholic Church against the safety of children?

This disagreement in Quebec is also evident in Ontario, where Premier Doug Ford and Education Minister Lisa Thompson repealed the 2015 sex-ed curriculum.

Under the repealed curriculum, Grade 1 children would be able to recognize the major parts of their body by their proper names. Where most education programs including body safety and behaviour skills programs for children helped them understand how to identify inappropriate touching, these programs don’t teach chil- dren the proper names for their private parts. We need to stop asking, “Why does this keep happening?” and start preventing it. If we give children the right knowledge and terminology and we, as adults, model these terms everyday, we will be better equipped to prevent child sexual abuse.

Anyone who has taught a child head, shoulders, knees and toes knows the capability that children have to learn the proper names for their entire body. We know what we could and should be doing. We need to start implementing instead of repealing.