No, I don't assume CHILDREN are strong and can defend themselves - that is one reason I mentioned that I wish there were a way to protect them better. Because children ARE vulnerable.

I never said that CHILDREN should "march down to the clinic" - what I said was that I was surprised the monsters who raped them did not take them in for an abortion so as to avoid being caught. Do you not see the difference?

Adult women OTOH, are just as capable as men.

One issue I have with some modern feminists is that they talk a good game but have little real toughness. I have known women who choose to be victims.

I had a friend when I was in my 20s and still naive, who was being beaten on a regular basis by her husband. It tore me apart to get phone calls from her. I finally told her enough was enough, I was coming to get her IF she wanted to be rescued, which she swore she did.

So I spent money I really didn't have on bus fare to go 300 miles to get her and take her home with me. So I show up at her door - and she refuses to come with me, but the following week she calls me again crying. I told her to stop calling. It tore me up too much emotionally.

Since then, I've encountered a variety of "victims" - from alcoholics to the chronically unemployed and people who are abused. I will offer to help but ONLY if they take a step to help themselves. Most of the time, they refuse to do anything.

Occasionally I can actually help someone. One girl I met when she was 14. She was being abused. I offered her a safe space but I made it clear I expected her to make the phone calls, etc., to find a long term solution. I had to be tough with her a couple of times, but I refused to allow her to manipulate me.

Seven years later, she's a senior in college and we are still friends.

Maybe I come across as unsympathetic, but I'm not all talk and no action. I WILL take action when I can, but I REFUSE to help people who won't do anything to help themselves.

Unfortunately, our culture sometimes brainwashes women into learned helplessness. There is the "Flashdance"

phenomenon. Women expect a white knight to swoop in. That is not realistic encourages the infantilization of women.

I was lucky that in addition to the "poor princess gets rescued by the strong prince" fairy tales I also read books with strong women when I was a child, with fictional characters like Pippi Longstocking and Jo March to real women like Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Blackwell, Amelia Earhart and Admiral Grace Hopper.

I would love to live in a world where EACH child was empowered and could speak up and be heard when he or she was abused, but unfortunately that is not the world we live in. However, when I've encountered children through volunteer work who are in a tough place, one thing I always ask them - "What can YOU do?" This is often something they've never heard before and I've seen how this simple question can empower even a young child.

One area I hate about our society is that children are not accorded the respect they deserve. I wrote about this in a medium article a while back, about NOT touching a child who does not want to be touched and how parents should back up their child if the child doesn't want to kiss an aunt or sit on uncle's knee. NO CHILD should be touched against his or her will.

Sorry for going on at such length. This is an area I do care about quite a bit.