Listen to your children
Malaysian youths trust parents to help tackle online sexual mistreatment, says survey
Survey shows youths turn to their parents over online sexual abuse.
KUALA LUMPUR: Parents, it’s time to listen up – your child may have something to tell you about online sexual abuse.
A 2017 survey run by Unicef polling of 800 girls and boys aged 14 to 17 showed that eight in 10 children in Malaysia identified their parents as the most trusted adult source for help if they were to experience any form of sexual abuse online.
“These numbers show that parents must be open and not judge their children when they come to them,” said Unicef Malaysia representative Marianne Clark-Hattingh.
“Otherwise if parents react badly, the child may not come forward to them again.”
The survey was highlighted at a Unicef townhall for parents yester- day, held in conjunction with Safer Internet Day.
Over 60 parents participated in the discussion at the townhall with a panel of experts including the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) director of advocacy development Elvira Shamsuddin, Digi’s principal of communication and sustainability Philip Ling and R.AGE deputy executive editor and producer Ian Yee.
“It is crucial that parents are aware of the risks online and know where to get the right information,” said Clark-Hattingh.
“There are various platforms today for parents to get information, such as from the MCMC, Digi’s Cyber-SAFE initiative and the chatbot developed by R.AGE,” she said.
Earlier, Yee demonstrated R.AGE’s new chatbot, “Ana”, which is designed to answer questions from teens and parents about sexual crimes and reproductive health.
The chatbot is currently being beta tested at http://predator.my.
Unicef also launched the “State of the World’s Children (SOWC) 2017: Children in a Digital World” report at the townhall.
The report is a guide for parents to learn safe Internet practices and how to protect their children online.
“Predators today aren’t physically watching you, but virtually watching you.
“You need to know what you are posting online about your children,” said Kavitha Muthy, a parent who was part of the townhall.
“Parents should be empowered to learn online dangers and what to do if their child has become a victim of online abuse,” added Kavitha, who is also a digital safety advocate.
“Cyber awareness also includes how parents should prevent themselves from becoming addicted to their phones.”
Find out more about the SOWC report at www.unicef.org/SOWC2017.