An 11 year old Chilean girl had been repeatedly sexually assaulted by her mother's boyfriend for 2 years until she got pregnant. Her decision to keep the baby has sparked the debate - there are people who think she should have an abortion whether she wants one or not.
Update: One of those who thought she should have an abortion is Michelle Bachelet. Michelle won the presidential elections in Chile in November 2013. Abortion rights are very limited in this very conservative, very Catholic continent.
But that is not what I bring to your attention today. It is the mother's attitude that I want to focus on, because, I suspect that it is not all that rare among mothers of abused children. Maybe you can help me with that, if you know of any examples please share them.
The article quotes the mom defending her boyfriend:
"Her mother shocked Chileans recently when she defended him saying his relationship was consensual."
Excuse me? The girl was nine years old when she was first raped. That's not consensual on any continent! It was, the story states, the child's grandmother who alerted the police and brought the charges, not the mom. The mom appeared quite happy to hide the crime, which, of course, would allow it to continue. I think she qualifies as mother-of-the-year in South America.
Why? Why would a mom allow that to happen to her little girl? Yet, I believe, it happens all the time. Perhaps a mother is more afraid of being abandoned by her boyfriend than anything else. Or, perhaps, the mother herself was abused at a very young age and has accepted such things as 'normal'. We know that sexual abuse is often generational - we've seen that in First Nations populations where earlier generations were sexually abused in Residential Schools in Canada. (See: The Disgrace of Residential Schools)
Let us pray that God will break these generational curses and stop the abuse from being passed on to children. That God would do that through spiritual deliverance would certainly be preferable, but, otherwise, I am fine with Him using a more physical method.
The important thing is that we pray.
Update: One of those who thought she should have an abortion is Michelle Bachelet. Michelle won the presidential elections in Chile in November 2013. Abortion rights are very limited in this very conservative, very Catholic continent.
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| Michelle Bachelet President of Chile |
The article quotes the mom defending her boyfriend:
"Her mother shocked Chileans recently when she defended him saying his relationship was consensual."
Excuse me? The girl was nine years old when she was first raped. That's not consensual on any continent! It was, the story states, the child's grandmother who alerted the police and brought the charges, not the mom. The mom appeared quite happy to hide the crime, which, of course, would allow it to continue. I think she qualifies as mother-of-the-year in South America.
Why? Why would a mom allow that to happen to her little girl? Yet, I believe, it happens all the time. Perhaps a mother is more afraid of being abandoned by her boyfriend than anything else. Or, perhaps, the mother herself was abused at a very young age and has accepted such things as 'normal'. We know that sexual abuse is often generational - we've seen that in First Nations populations where earlier generations were sexually abused in Residential Schools in Canada. (See: The Disgrace of Residential Schools)
Let us pray that God will break these generational curses and stop the abuse from being passed on to children. That God would do that through spiritual deliverance would certainly be preferable, but, otherwise, I am fine with Him using a more physical method.
The important thing is that we pray.
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