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guthmund · 05-10-2005, 11:34 AM

I can't find stranger abduction statistics relating to gender. I can tell you that 1 in 4 of all abductions are stranger abductions. That the likely abductee will probably be an 11-13 year old white female from "middle class" (does such thing exist anymore? Another thread maybe...) cross section of society.

The question, for me anyway, is why do we have these irrational fears about men and children. Of 797,500 children reported missing, 58,200 were abducted by nonfamily members and only 115 of those were the violent, long-term "stereotypical" abduction scenarios (all that according to the NISMART-2 research study for the year 1999). That means 739,300 children, that is if my math is right, are abducted by family members. So, if the vast majority of kids abducted are abducted by family members, why aren't they as heavily scrutinized as the lone male?

My sister and mother have no problem leaving my niece and nephew with me for hours on end. A friend of my mother regularly leaves her teenage daughter in my charge during the summer when school is out. According to statistics, it's more likely for me to abduct them rather than some random guy at the park.

But really, all that is irrelevant as far as I'm concerned. I mean, if you're that worried about a child being abducted, wouldn't you be wary of everybody? If I was so terribly frightened of the notion that someone could spirit away my child, you better believe I'm going to be watching everyone around them like a hawk and not just the lone males.

05-10-2005, 11:34 AM	#23 (permalink)
guthmund big damn hero	I can't find stranger abduction statistics relating to gender. I can tell you that 1 in 4 of all abductions are stranger abductions. That the likely abductee will probably be an 11-13 year old white female from "middle class" (does such thing exist anymore? Another thread maybe...) cross section of society. The question, for me anyway, is why do we have these irrational fears about men and children. Of 797,500 children reported missing, 58,200 were abducted by nonfamily members and only 115 of those were the violent, long-term "stereotypical" abduction scenarios (all that according to the NISMART-2 research study for the year 1999). That means 739,300 children, that is if my math is right, are abducted by family members. So, if the vast majority of kids abducted are abducted by family members, why aren't they as heavily scrutinized as the lone male? My sister and mother have no problem leaving my niece and nephew with me for hours on end. A friend of my mother regularly leaves her teenage daughter in my charge during the summer when school is out. According to statistics, it's more likely for me to abduct them rather than some random guy at the park. But really, all that is irrelevant as far as I'm concerned. I mean, if you're that worried about a child being abducted, wouldn't you be wary of everybody? If I was so terribly frightened of the notion that someone could spirit away my child, you better believe I'm going to be watching everyone around them like a hawk and not just the lone males. __________________ No signature. None. Seriously.