A discussion sponsored by the Indonesian Planned Parenthood Association (PKBI) concluded Thursday that the best way to protect children from pedophiles was to give them sex education.
Bunga Kamase Kobong, an activist from Sahabat Peduli Foundation that counsels child victims of sexual abuse, said it was easy for pedophiles to take advantage of children due to their relative naïvety.
“In many cases, the children even think the harassment is an expression of attention and care,” she said.
The PKBI has since 2006 run a sex education program for kindergarten children.
Acting executive director Inne Silviane said that at the beginning, the program caused widespread embarrassment and consternation among parents and teachers.
However, she went on, it had now received much praise and appreciation.
The program has been carried out in 22 village preschools and 28 kindergartens in Jakarta, Surabaya and Balikpapan.
About 3,000 children have taken part in the program, while 79 teachers and government officials have been trained as program instructors.
“Many preschools and kindergartens are now asking the PKBI to hold similar programs at their schools,” Inne said.
The program, called “I and You: Ways to Build Social Skills and Prevent the Sexual Abuse of Children”, aims to raise awareness among children about their bodies by teaching them hygiene, the difference between male and female bodies, and the importance of not letting other people, particularly strangers, touch them.
The program is run by the PKBI in cooperation with the World Population Foundation (WPF), and is funded by the Bernard van Leer Foundation.
In Thursday’s discussion, Inne showed off four puppets of a man, a woman, a boy and a girl, all with mock sexual organs.
“In the program, we show these puppets to the children and explain to them that the organs should be covered,” she said.
“These parts of the body should not be touched by others except when the children are being bathed or examined by a doctor.”
However, psychologist Mayke A. Tedjasaputra, who counsels sexually abused children, argued kindergarten-aged children were too young for sex education.
“Such education for children between the ages of 4 and 6 provides a strong basis for their adult personality,” she said.
Inne said religious leaders had also objected to the program, by saying sex was a taboo subject for
children.
“Clerics should understand that this program teaches children how to honor their sexuality, and does not teach them to do anything immoral,” she said.
WPF country representative Sri Kusyuniarti said sexuality should stop being viewed as a taboo subject, pointing out the high rates of underage sexual harassment cases and the ease of accessing sex-related information in various media.
Data from the Central Statistic Agency (BPS) shows that in 2006, 51 percent of victims in underage sexual harassment cases, or more than 50,000 cases, were below the age of 9.
“I believe sex education should become part of the national education curriculum,” Kusyuniartisaid.
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