A sensitive issue and our society, they have a rather paradoxical relationship. People feel that if we talk about topics that are considered taboo, it will disrupt the norms of the society, and the ones who talk about it would be considered outcasts and will bring shame to their family. The question is, why do people perceive that keeping things discreet will maintain the decorum of social norms and that it is acceptable.
The underlying problem is for the individuals who suffer from the repercussions of keeping things under the carpet. Subjects like child molestation, menstruation, homosexuality, domestic abuse, drug addiction, atheism and rape are some examples that are considered inappropriate to discuss within family. In most cases, individuals who are subjected to such matters have a fear of discussing their problems with their peers. A lot of times, the subject may not itself be as offensive, but it may have an impact on those individuals. Truth is, these issues are there and are real. Some are even traumatic and the sufferers are unable to seek help only out of fear of talking about it. Results of this practice often leads to suicidal thoughts or suicide itself.
We need to differentiate between being exposed and being educated. Sex education is the best example. With the rising problems related to teen-pregnancy, puberty and STDs, it is becoming vital to be aware of the corollaries of engaging into sexual activities. We can't stop people from having sex, but we can and we should educate them about safe sex. From personal experience, people aren't even aware of the term STD or VD. Not being aware of something that exists is alarming. You cant' shy away from sexual health problems only because it is not an acceptable topic in your culture. Our education system doesn't cater these topics from early stages either. That stage is the point when young adults start experimenting and experiencing their adulthood. Parents don't feel appropriate to discuss changes in their bodies with them either. Hence these adolescents end up being unaware of results of their experiences. Let's face it, nagging young girls about not meeting boys alone is not going to stop them from meeting them if they want to. In this case, parents should be careful about how they deal with the situation. Prohibiting them from meeting boys alone without giving them proper reasoning will make them confused as to why are they being held back from doing something they want. It is just like Newton's third law of motion. Every action has an equal but opposite reaction. The 'opposite reaction' is what we need to be concerned about.
Same is the case with homosexuality and child molestation. Adulthood is associated with a lot of changes in a young person's body. It is proven by science that homosexuality is a natural phenomena and its realization can occur during early age of a child. That time can be difficult for a child, he or she is going through changes that not many have faced around them. Even when they try to talk about their issues with their parents, they tend to either ignore the discussion or suppress it to the point that the child starts to feel that whatever is happening to him or her is not suppose to happen, ending up living in fear, isolating themselves in their thoughts and go into depression throughout their cruicial and growing age.
Child molestation is no different. Take a child who gets molested by a relative, tells his parents. Often times parents shut out their child's cry because they do not want to bring their family in limelight. A rape case of a young girl also faces the same demise as the young girl fears that they would be put to blame and parents fear that if the words goes out about their daughter being abused, she won't get good proposals. People with drug abuse problems also need to be addressed. Many people are addicted because they are either depressed or trying to avoid overthinking.
Their is a solution to avoid suffering of such people. We need to have our children's confidence about them being able to talk about sensitive issues. If family environments are kept in a manner where topics likes sex, puberty and child abuse are forced away from general discussions then children and people who face an issue would not have that confidence of speaking out. We need to build a social system where educating about tender issues is circulated. We need to mature as a society and be able to be talk about sex, drugs and puberty without feeling embarrassed or having a laugh out of it. It is time to start caring for the people who are suffering.
