The perspective of Teachers and Parents Regarding Child Sexual Abuse Incidents in Rural Areas, in Indonesia

Abstract

Background: Child sexual abuse incidents are a highly prevalent phenomenon. About 120 million children under the age of 20 have experienced forced sexual initiation or other initiation actions. This incident is mostly performed by the closest people such as family and neighbors. The perspective of parents and teachers views attention is needed to sexual abuse incidents of children, its causes, and preventive efforts. Purpose: This study aimed to analyze the perspective of teachers and parents regarding the incidence, causes, and efforts to prevent sexual abuse in children. Method: The method used was qualitative with a case study approach. Results: The perspective of teachers and parents is that the sexual abuse incident towards children in Sidrap Regency is mostly experienced by children aged between 6 to 10 years. Most of the perpetrators are those who are close to them such as stepfather, grandfather, and neighbor. The incident was revealed after it had been experienced for a long time because the child felt afraid of the perpetrator and felt ashamed because his family and society considered her a disgrace. According to the informant, the causes of child sexual abuse are poor economic factors of the family, social factors such as children with broken home conditions, parents who have died or do not live with their parents, and easy access to pornographic content because children generally have smartphones. Efforts to prevent child sexual abuse according to the informant's point of view are through instilling family, religious and social values at school as well as providing education to children, parents, teachers, and society regarding the importance of self-protection to avoid sexual abuse. Education can be in the forms of counseling activities, Socialization, use of health media, and health literacy. Conclusion: Teachers and parents view child sexual abuse incidents in Sidrap Regency as urgent to solve, because it has happened to young children, are perpetrated by people who know them, and only are revealed after the incident happened a long time. According to teachers and parents, child sexual abuse incident is triggered by economic and social factors and easy access to information. Therefore, it is suggested that efforts from the school should be done to involve parents in rebuilding family values, religion, and social interaction to prevent sexual abuse incidents towards children.