Last weekend, I watched \u201cKeep This Between Us\u201d on Hulu, a four-part docuseries initially airing on the Freeform network. According to the show\u2019s news release, the series \u201cexposes an epidemic of widespread grooming \u2014manipulative and coercive behavior by abusers to gain access to potential victims \u2014 in U.S. high schools.\u201d It\u2019s a timely topic, as accusations of grooming dominate recent headlines, aimed almost exclusively at LGBTQ people and curricula.
\nWhat\u2019s notable about this series \u2014 and why I wanted to highlight it \u2014 is that it examines filmmaker Cheryl Nichol\u2019s experience being groomed by a straight male high school teacher, not the demographic most currently associated with the term \u201cgroomer,\u201d but statistically, the demographic most likely to sexually abuse children, a crime that\u2019s rarely meaningfully addressed by pundits or legislatures, even though it\u2019s disgustingly common. Putting the bulk of the blame on the LGBTQ community allows scores of adult groomers to continue their behavior unchecked and puts kids at risk.<\/p>\n
The CDC reports that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 13 boys in the U.S. experience child sexual abuse. These statistics are appalling when you consider the amount of lip service and rhetoric we devote to \u201csaving children,\u201d and when you consider these statistics are based on reported data, I\u2019d imagine the actual numbers are larger.
\nI\u2019m not suggesting that LGBTQ adults don\u2019t groom children \u2014 I was unfortunately acquainted with a gay guidance counselor who used his position of power to assault minors \u2014 but A) being a member of the LGBTQ community is unequivocally not synonymous with grooming, and B) statistically it\u2019s adults who identify as straight who abuse the most children.<\/p>\n