Homeschooling cover for child abuse and sexual exploitation?

by Andrea Hermitt | More from this Blogger

Who comes up with this stuff?

At the head of homeschooling headlines today is an article out of the UK entitled Home schooling 'could be a cover for child abuse and sexual exploitation'.

My problem is not that some people feel this way, but that some people will try to convince others of this drivel.

Here are some of the items presented in this article:

In some extreme cases, home education could be used as a cover for abuse. We cannot allow this to happen and are committed to doing all we can to help ensure children are safe, wherever they are educated.

There is no doubt that some abusers have used homeschooling in order to cover their abuse. It is also true however that even more public school children are abused at home and that abuse goes undiscovered. Abusers are cunning. You can't tell me that adding thousands of homeschoolers to a case workers workload will reveal any abuse in the home.

There is also the worry that 'claims that home education could be used as a 'cover' for child abuse such as neglect, forced marriage, sexual exploitation or domestic servitude'.

Now I don't know how often this happens in the UK, but in the US, I guess this could happen in fringe groups. These groups aren't going to be stopped by being in public schools. I distinctly remember a certain population in my own NY high school where girls reported getting married in the 9th and 10th grades and disappeared from the school as they became pregnant, never to be seen again. It was looked at as "cultural" and ignored by the schools.

So I guess I am discussing this not to bring to light the ridiculous claims of people who fear homeschoolers may be successful and make them look bad, which is the furthest thing from most homeschoolers mind, but to tell those who might be influenced by this information to not believe it so easily. Do your own research. Do your own thinking. Meet and befriend some homeschoolers. You might be surprised.

Read: Comparing Homeschool Abuse to General Childhood Abuse

Will More Homeschooling Regulations Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect?

Educational Neglect: What you Should Know

Learn more about Andrea Hermitt

Andrea Hermitt is a native New Yorker currently residing in GA. She has been married for over 16 years and has two teenage children.

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