Thank you for raising the issue of boys being anonymously accused of sexual offences (“Boys ‘branded sex predators for clumsy teenage fumbles’”, News, last week). At 14, our son was accused of sexually assaulting girls at his school. He was temporarily excluded, threatened with expulsion and reported to the child protection services and the police. The names of his accusers and the details of their claims were withheld, making it impossible for him to defend himself.
On his eventual return to school, he was harassed and taunted as “a rapist”. He remains largely ostracised. He has been threatened on social media and is now reluctant to leave home except to attend school.
Investigations by the child protection services and the police found the accusations baseless, yet the impact on our son has been devastating. A better balance needs to be struck between protecting children and helping teenagers learn to manage all aspects of their sexuality.
Name and address withheld
Put girls first
When girls are widely reporting being sexually attacked, the appropriate response is not: “Won’t somebody think of the effect on the poor boys?” As a man, I believe it is time for boys to be educated on a rebalancing of responsibilities, no matter how “got at” they might feel.
With Andrew Tate and his cheerleaders telling boys they should act like Neanderthals, the rest of us need to fight for a more enlightened approach to stop the appalling treatment of women by so many men in our midst.
D...
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