When's the right time to start teaching your child about sexual abuse prevention?

There's many good books on the market that are created especially for young children that you can read that will teach them about "Good Touch, Bad Touch".  A list of books will be provided here shortly.

Concerned with my reputation?

History of Intimidation, Harassment and Cyberbullying

School censorship or the internet - Lev Bais Yaakov School

Shouldn't this be up to parents and not schools?

How do you feel about your child's school dictating that your kids can't use the internet?  This is happening in NY, Chicago, Baltimore, LA and elsewhere.

On May 20 2012 a group Orthodox rabbis to discuss the dangers of the internet.  Who's discussing the dangers of these orthodox rabbis? (See below)

School Censorship Against the Internet

Stadium Seating for Internet Morals

By SOPHIA HOLLANDER

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304070304577396500381087604.html


A group of ultra-Orthodox Jews have rented out Citi Field for a meeting later this month intended to draw thousands of men to discuss the dangers of the Internet and formulate a communitywide response.

The event, set for May 20, has been publicized internationally within the Orthodox Jewish press and tapped into a world-wide debate over how to reconcile modern life with the Internet's perceived moral dangers.

It is a concern that transcends the Orthodox community, organizers note.

"We're hoping to come together as a unified community to address a challenge that in the last number of years has begun dawning not just on our community and the larger Jewish community but society as a whole," said Eytan Kobre, 52 years old, a spokesman for the event who is also the North American editor for an Orthodox magazine, Mispacha.

"Hopefully we'll fill the role that the Jewish people have tried to fill from time memorial, which is serving as a beacon to the world and as a force for the transformation of the good in society," he said, adding that the event has already had sold out the 42,000-seat stadium.

But the meeting, which some published reports have estimated will cost nearly $2 million, has drawn a series of sharp attacks—for its men-only policy, for instance, and for its cost, criticized as extravagant at a time when many families are struggling.

The Hasidic rabbis wanted women to attend, but "logistics did not permit for it," said Mr. Kobre, noting that in this community "a religious gathering of this nature is gender-separated."

A live video-feed will be streamed to six locations around the metropolitan area for women to watch, he said.

Other critics say the event is a smokescreen for religious leaders seeking to consolidate control over their congregations by limiting access to outside information.

A counterprotest—dubbed "The Internet Is Not the Problem" and expected to draw hundreds—is scheduled for across the street from the stadium event. It accuses Jewish leadership of scapegoating the Internet while avoiding a more pressing problem: child abuse.

"You can spend all the time and money protesting the Internet and you can't get worked up about child molestation?" said Ari Mandel, who said he left the ultra-Orthodox community about six years ago, joined the Army and recently returned to civilian life.

Mr. Mandel, 29 years old, organized the counterprotest after learning last week that a young family member had been molested. "We were outraged," he said. He is mobilizing supporters through a website and Facebook page for the protest.

Organizers said they were disappointed to learn of the counterprotest.

"Whether it's a legitimate issue or not, and I'm willing to posit that it is a legitimate issue, are they really going to make progress on it by holding a counterrally?" Mr. Kobre said. "It seems like a cheap political circus. It's sad. It's unfortunate."

Organizers stressed that the intent of the Citi Field event wasn't to ban the Internet but to promote its responsible use. Speakers will be recommending that all Orthodox families install filters on their computers, and block out all social-media sites including Facebook and Twitter, said Mr. Kobre.

He cited recent reports in mainstream newspapers and magazines depicting families of all faiths grappling with the issue, particularly how to speak to children about Internet pornography. "I expect that any member of society in good standing would be pained by that sort of thing," he said.

Still, he acknowledged that Orthodox standards could well exceed secular ones: He included People Magazine as an example of a website for recommended filtering.

The event at Citi Field isn't the first time the ultra-Orthodox community has grappled with the Internet.

Earlier attempts by Orthodox religious leaders to ban the Internet in congregants' households have largely failed, many said. But efforts to restrict it continue, including contracts at some religious schools requiring parents to promise that their children won't be allowed Internet access, under threat of expulsion.

Accusations have surfaced that some schools are requiring male students and their fathers to purchase the $10 tickets and attend the Citi Field event.

"That's kind of coercive," said Dr. Michael Salamon, an Orthodox psychologist on Long Island. "What we're getting is a lot of arm-twisting."

Akiva Marks, a 47-year-old software designer who moved to Israel from New Jersey several years ago, said he considers himself ultra-Orthodox and wasn't unaware of the dangers posed by certain websites. He recalled helping his 8-year-old daughter with a research project on the presidency and typed in whitehouse.com instead of '.gov.'

"I quickly shut down the browser," he said.

But several years later when he was required to sign a school contract stating that his daughter would have no access to the Internet, "she thought it was ridiculous," he said.

He praised the goal of the conference but questioned whether it would be successful. "I think that it's become more and more indispensable to most peoples' daily lives," said

"The community needs to be educated and understand the things to avoid," he said. "But I think that those who are organizing it don't bring the right skills to do that and by trying to solve the problem without the right skills they'll alienate those who need a solution."

He noted that as a result of medical advances in recent years, the most respected Jewish scholars can live to be up to 90 years old. "We benefit greatly from maintaining their wisdom among us that much longer," he said. "But it's a little harder for them to analyze Internet issues."

"I think the fears are legitimate, absolutely," he said. "I just think the approach is wrong."

Mr. Kobre said that the organizers are technically savvy, though he did not know who would be speaking at the event.

Even accepting the meeting at face value, Dr. Salamon said he questioned whether blocking out content was the best solution.

"You don't deal with it by talking about pure filtering—you deal with it by teaching about how to deal with what may pop up, even with the best filters," he said.

"Pornography has always been out there; marital problems have always been out there," he continued. "They are not necessarily made worse by technology."

Some rabbis said they were initially skeptical of the event, but have become convinced of the organizers' good intentions.

"My position on it has evolved a lot," said Rabbi Eliyahu Fink, 30, who leads a congregation in Venice Beach, Calif., and runs a popular religious blog. Initially he worried that the Citi Field event would reprise earlier efforts to ban the Internet. But after speaking with organizers he became convinced that they were determined to teach people how to use the technology responsibly.

"I'm hopeful that this event will somehow make the Internet kosher for those who have always felt it's prohibited," said Mr. Fink.

Write to Sophia Hollander at sophia.hollander@wsj.com

Rape Victim Discusses Her Nightmare

Rape Victim Discusses Her Nightmare
Phil Jacobs
Baltimore Jewish Times - MAY 12, 2006

There’s a framed print of a Kohane’s fingers spread in a ceremonial position as the backdrop of this interview.

Near the sofa is a wedding photo with the words in Hebrew, "Ani L’Dodi L’Dodi Li, (I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.) A shofar sits on a nearby shelf as well as a tzedaka box. On the coffee table is Harold Kushner’s book "Who Needs God?"

Similar symbols of Judaica can be found in the homes of many of her Menlo Drive neighbors. She and her husband have lived in the home for about three years. They are only a few blocks Shabbos walk to their synagogue.

So it seems incongruous that this 63-year-old mother of three adult daughters was talking about a rape in her comfortable Upper Park Heights Avenue living room. Rape. The word shouldn’t find its ways from the lips of any person, man or woman, but especially that of a grandmother of seven.

It wasn’t someone else's rape.

It was her own.

At about 11 p.m., Tuesday, May 2, she walked out to her driveway to retrieve something from her car.

When she looked up, "there was a young black man next to me. He was just there, I didn’t hear him." A hand tightened the sweater around her neck. Another hand held very large two-prongued fork, the type you’d use to roast food over a barbeque. The fork was held up against her neck. He told her not to talk or to shout.

"It took me a little bit to realize what was happening," she said. "It was surreal that it was happening."

They walked towards their neighbor’s house, which she said set off a motion detector light. Still they kept walking.

She told him to take her car keys. He told her to shut up She knew she had to get away. But she couldn’t. He was young, he was in his 20s.

"Do what I tell you to do or I’ll stab you," he told her.

She told him that she was older. She told him that she had back surgery.

It didn’t matter, not to him.

She would get up moments after he cavalierly just walked away from her. She’d get back into her house. The house with her husband watching TV, the house with her cat Sophie curled up on a living room chair. 911 would be called. An ambulance would transport her to Mercy Hospital. The City Police would get involved. There’d be a gynecologist exam, a counselor and probably therapy.

All this for a 62-year-old. Then there’d be the call to Dena Henry, one of her two daughters living in Florida. Dena would call Maggie Ramos, who lives in the same Florida city. Another sister in Indianapolis would be called. She was the daughter estranged from her mom. It didn’t matter now. All three would come to Baltimore.

Imagine having to call your daughters to tell them you were raped. Maggie talked about how her mom would sometimes hide her problems, quirks or illnesses from them until she was over them. She couldn’t respond over her tears in describing what it was like to hear this news about her mother.

"It’s your mother," said Maggie. "I couldn’t stop thinking about that. She was physically violated. And the same as a violation to us."

Her mom described her rapist as a "nice looking young man. But he had no distinguishing features."

With the urging of her daughters, the City Police helped the victim produce a composite drawing. Her daughters have distributed the drawings to neighbors within blocks of Menlo Drive. They have also gone to the local TV media to get the word out.

Both daughters weren’t reserved in their criticism of the initial City Police investigation, feeling that there could have been a more sensitive follow through process. They also were angry that while their mom was being interviewed by detectives, she could hear what they felt were insensitive conversations and laughter through the walls of the police station. Still, they had compliments for Northwest District commander Major Kieth Tiedemann and the Northwest Citizens Patrol. Also, the family received a great deal of support and well wishes from their rabbi and from their neighbors.

"I feel safe," she said, "but I do feel anxious. I’m also more aware of my surroundings. I do feel God is watching over me, just in a strange way."