Mohammad Emami:
Running away from home may begin with a wrong decision or a simple grudge; But the result is nothing but a profound regret in the hearts of teenage girls who prefer to run away and, in the hope of achieving what they don’t have, turn their backs on all their possessions, break the shackles of home and family and Sleep under the roof of sky regardless of the danger that threatens them in every spot of the city. According to experts, the phenomenon of girls running away from home is not only a social harm in itself, but also results in other harms and challenges in society. Girls and boys need reasons to run away from home. Boys up to the age of
fifteen are considered to have run away if they leave home without their parent’s knowledge and permission, but after this age, they are no longer a runaway boy. It’s different for girls, and every time a girl leaves home for a long time without her parent’s knowledge, she’s a runaway girl. Several studies show that living with a stepmother or stepfather, behavioral problems in single-parent families, emotional issues, intellectual dependencies on the opposite sex and being deceived by marriage promise, physical abuse and other forms of threats are among the main reasons for girl’s escape. What is evident among runaway girls is that most of them come from large families with addicted parents and experience their parents’ divorce. It is not a certain fact that runaway girls are from low-income or poor families.
Low moral values in the family, ineffectiveness of parents in transferring life skills, lack of behavioral management training and not paying attention to the
spiritual and emotional needs of girls during puberty and previous stages of their life, cause girls from families with good financial situation to run away as well. In families where adolescent behavior is not monitored properly and rules and expectations are difficult to follow or uncertain, girls are more likely
to escape.
Lack of effective life skills training and ineffectiveness of behavior control management in education system along with parental irresponsibility towards children, are another cultural and social reasons for girls running away, which require relevant policy-making Given that these girls spend some of their time away from home in schools, the role of these institutions can be effective in weakening the intention to run away between girls.
To sum it up, it seems that creating a safe and healthy environment- both emotionally and physically, listening to children, providing opportunities for them to learn, making positive and constructive decisions, supporting them when they feel lonely, avoiding unnecessary criticism and Excessive ridiculous remarks and punishment, encouraging the child to succeed and being honest in building a relationship with the child are some of the ways families can use to prevent girls from escaping.
Having a clear purpose in life and adhering to religious and social traditions and values can be helpful in improving youngesters’ understanding of resistance unfavorable conditions or make a proper change in the situation so that they no longer see escape as the best and easiest way and consider the consequences of this action before making any decision.
Although in recent years, for the primary and secondary prevention of this social harm, centers for intervention in social crises have been established under the supervision of the Welfare Organization in large cities. These centers intend to organize the escape of runaway girls, but so far, no scientific research has conducted to evaluate the performance of these centers.
Therefore, the authorities should consider this phenomenon as a serious harm and take necessary steps to reduce it.
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