Mothers And Fathers Must Know, IDAI Calls Pedophiles Targeting Children Who Don't Understand The Use Of Social Media, Be Alert

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JAKARTA - The Indonesian Pediatrician Association (IDAI) emphasized that pedophiles often target children who do not understand the use of social media to commit sexual crimes.

"This is very worrying because it turns out to be pedophiles or online sex offenders. They target children who don't understand social media," said IDAI Child Protection Task Force Head Eva Devita Harmoniati in an online seminar in Jakarta, Antara, Wednesday, July 13.

Eva said that many children today do not understand the limitations in accessing information that is spread on the internet.

Some others routinely or like to upload their personal photos without realizing the impact that will be caused so that children become one of the groups that are very vulnerable to sexual crimes.

Based on data from the Online Information System for the Protection of Women and Children (SIMFONI) belonging to the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA), 6,454 children were victims of sexual violence in 2019, increasing to 8,730 in 2022.

The pedophile himself, said Eva, initially tried to approach the child by acting like a friend who gave various gifts. Not infrequently they contact children through messaging applications such as groups on Whatsapp.

The perpetrators then used this moment to threaten the children, in exchange for asking them to send indecent pictures or videos. So Eva emphasized that every child needs full protection from both the government and the community.

In order to protect children from online sexual violence, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic which requires children to interact more with social media, Eva advises parents to evaluate the rules for using the internet and prepare security devices for all devices owned by children.

"Don't let children use them freely without any security applications in electronic devices that can access them. Make parental control settings on all tools that can be accessed on the internet, by activating age appropriate filters and monitoring tools,” he said.

Eva continued that it is very important for parents to teach their children to recognize and avoid sharing personal information on the internet. Give understanding to children to avoid communication with strangers.

"We teach children what is allowed to be uploaded and what is not. There are things that must be limited to people we just know, especially in cyberspace," he said.

Then parents are asked to make an agreement on internet usage rules so that children can be supervised, as well as build trust and teach children to be responsible.

Finally, for parents who find or suspect the occurrence of sexual crimes against children, it is advisable to contact directly related parties such as KemenPPPA through the SAPA 129 call center or the Indonesian Police Sub-Directorate on Violence of Women and Children at 110.

"Don't forget that we also need to deal with the psychological impact as well as the physical impact that our children suffer, both to pediatricians and psychologists," said Eva.