I'm a child of the 80s and was a pretty independent kid from an early age growing up in NYC. I spent a lot of time in the city's libraries, arcades, etc. I went to and from school (and generally started navigating Manhattan) on my own starting in first grade.
From the time I was 6 until I turned about 14, pedophiles were all over me like flies on shit. They would follow me home from the library. They would come up behind me at Playland Arcade (in Times Square) and grope me or masturbate. I would just freeze and let this happen -- I had to be taught by someone to physically fight them off.
I think we both overestimate and underestimate the risk. Not intending to victim blame, but predators of a certain type tend to all find the same people to victimize. If you're the type of person that gets targeted, then this is a serious problem to worry about.
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I'm a child of the 80s and was a pretty independent kid from an early age growing up in NYC. I spent a lot of time in the city's libraries, arcades, etc. I went to and from school (and generally started navigating Manhattan) on my own starting in first grade.
From the time I was 6 until I turned about 14, pedophiles were all over me like flies on shit. They would follow me home from the library. They would come up behind me at Playland Arcade (in Times Square) and grope me or masturbate. I would just freeze and let this happen -- I had to be taught by someone to physically fight them off.
I think we both overestimate and underestimate the risk. Not intending to victim blame, but predators of a certain type tend to all find the same people to victimize. If you're the type of person that gets targeted, then this is a serious problem to worry about.