Parents explain #MeToo movement to children in emotional video

“It’s important for you to know because these things can happen to kids too”

Teenager Mieraye discusses the #MeToo movement with her mother

With more and more people sharing their experiences of sexual abuse through #MeToo – a movement created to support those who have dealt with sexual misconduct and harassment – many parents may have considered discussing the topic with their own children.

An unfortunate truth, sexual assault can happen at any age and for parents everywhere #MeToo serves as a brutal reminder that you’re never too young to be affected by it.

So, in a bid to include the next generation in these difficult conversations, YouTube channel Cut has shared a video of parents having a frank discussion about sexual abuse with their children.

The video “Parents Explain #MeToo” features three mothers talking about the movement with their respective children – the youngest of which is a boy called Nolan who appears to be in elementary school and speaks with his mother, Nicole.

It also shows Ileana – a young girl who appears to be in middle school – and the oldest, a teen girl called Mieraye, chatting about the issue with their mothers.

An emotional nine-minute long clip, Nicole openly explains what sexual abuse is to her young son and even reveals that she was assaulted as a child before comforting him with a hug after he admits to feeling scared.

“Sexual assault is where people do inappropriate things to other people including things with the private parts we just talked about. So a lot of people are scared to talk about when those bad things happen to them, okay?” she says.

“It happens to a lot of men and women, boys and girls. It happened to me when I was younger, I didn’t even tell Daddy until two years ago.”

“I think it’s important for you to know because these things can happen to kids, too,” Nicole added.

In a similar discussion, Mieraye’s mother opens up about her experiences of sexual abuse at high school before her daughter reveals that it still occurs today.

“There’s definitely still that. If one of my friends is sitting there and watching it happen to someone else, I just find it very rare that they would say anything,” Mieraya explains.

Nicole speaks to her son Nolan openly about her own experiences of sexual assault (Youtube: Cut)

“In reality, they're too afraid to actually assert their own girl power while it’s happening because they are afraid of the boy overruling them. She’s going to feel embarrassed and not want to say anything ever again.”

For Ileana, the chat with her mother about sexual harassment hits a nerve as she breaks down while talking about an inappropriate incident that happened to her at school.

Her mother promptly comforts and praises her for speaking up.

Ileana breaks down while talking about an inappropriate incident that happened to her at school (Youtube: Cut)

“I’m very proud of you. It’s okay to talk about these things,” she tells Ileana.

“And that is the right thing to do, is to tell somebody right away. And you have to learn how to always speak up and don’t let anybody ever take advantage of you. This is never okay and it’s never your fault.

“I don’t think that the problem will ever go away but women need to know that they’re being empowered supported and backed up, and Me Too sheds light to that.”