Pat's Answer
To Pat / 13 July 2020
Weird touches from my dad
Your Question
my dad always makes me sit on his lap (without my consent) and he slaps me on my butt, and touches me on my hips and weird stuff like that… is it sexual abuse or is that normal?
From Pat / 5 August 2020
Answer
Thank you for getting in touch with Ask Pat.
From what you have said, you are wondering if your Dad making you sit on his lap without consent and touching you is normal behaviour or is it sexual abuse.
From the way you have described your Dad’s behaviour towards you, we would be concerned about what you are saying. Your Dad or anybody else, does not have the right to touch you the way you have described to us today. You have the right to be safe in your home and with what you have said to us, you are not right now.
You have the right to chat about this to a trusted adult that you know. This adult could be another parent, an aunt, an uncle, any adult that you feel comfortable talking to, who would know you and your family. Is that an option for you?
There are some articles on the Childline website which may help you with your question, www.childline.ie/what-is-abuse/.
You are more than welcome to contact us here in Childline to discuss this further. At Childline we do not judge you or tell you what to do and we may be able to help you with clarity around the issues that you raised. Childline services are free to you and available 24/7. We can be contacted via phone at 1800 66 66 66 or text on 50101 or through web chat on our website at www.childline.ie
We really hope to hear from you soon, so that we can support you.
Take care,
Pat