Age in which children are most vulnerable to sexual
abuse and exploitation, and related mental health
issues. For some children, it is the age in which they have no concept of sex or sexual development, and for others, it is an age in which they develop their reproductive phase and start having feeling sexual desire and or lack sophisticated social skills, to navigate
people who want to exploit and manipulate them. For some, it is the age in which children begin to experiment with mind-altering substances such as drugs, alcohol,
money, and power. For some it is the age in which they are highly dependent on a sexual abuser, such as a
parent or authority figure such as a
priest, or teacher.
For some it is the age in which they are poor, lack the psychological and social skills. An age when they feel powerless, and vulnerable to all sorts of manipulation and exploitation and unhealthy social pressures. It is the age in which they can be easily overpowered physically and mentally and for which they have little or no defense. And when they try to defend themselves against the
abuse they are often
made to feel powerless and hopeless and often further exploited and humiliated.
It is generally the age between
0-17, before the age of adulthood.
Some of the lawmakers were aroused and others vomited and cried at the hearings in which they were gathering
evidence on the age of vulnerability. Public Hearings in which they would gather the evidence for the
legal basis for the age of
consent.
