In a shocking and disturbing trend, preschool-age children are exhibiting behaviors that are raising alarm bells among parents and educators. Recently, a chilling account from a teacher revealed how a group of male preschoolers pulled a female classmate into a hidden corner, undressed her, and engaged in inappropriate touching – leaving parents stunned and searching for answers.
The teacher who happened to work in one of the public primary schools in the country shared her observation on social media, prompting other teachers to come out with tales of inappropriate activities of the young ones. The question on everyone’s lips is where did society go? Many believed that the children might have learnt such acts in the homes. “Maybe, the family lives in a one room where they see when the father and mother engage in sex and decide to experiment themselves,” one of the comments said. Some others blamed the many exposures of children to things they normally would have been spared via social media and movies. But who would have exposed such children to these acts? Who is to blame? Child-on-child abuse can come in various forms. According to ‘Keeping children safe in education’ , a United Kingdom, statutory guidance for schools and colleges on safeguarding children and safer recruitment, child-on-child abuse is inappropriate behaviours between children that are abusive in nature including physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, exploitation, sexual harassment, all forms of bullying, coercive control, hazing/initiation rituals between children and young people, both on and offline (including that which is within intimate personal relationships).
Child-on-child abuse is harmful to both the perpetrator and the victim which emphasised the need for more awareness on the issue.
Speaking to THE WHISTLER on the issue, a Senior Health Policy expert warned that the cultural and societal norms are exacerbating the child-on-child abuse.
Azeez who is the Director, Science Public Private Partnership Unit Health Secretariat in the Federal Capital Territory(FCT), noted that the increasing exposure of children to sexual content through social media, gadgets, and other forms of media is contributing to the growing incidence of child sexual abuse.
Azeez noted that children are being exposed to inappropriate content at a very young age, which can lead to premature sexualization and increased vulnerability to abuse.
“The value system in our society is changing, and our children are being exposed to things they shouldn’t be exposed to,” Azeez said. “We need to be vigilant and create awareness about the dangers of child sexual abuse.”
Azeez emphasised that parents, educators, and caregivers must be trained to identify the signs of child sexual abuse, which can include withdrawal, rejection of familiar activities, and changes in behaviour.
“When a child has been sexually abused, it can manifest in different ways. The best way to discover is when a happy child suddenly turns to a less happy child, when a talkative child talks less and when a child who likes going out suddenly doesn’t want to go to some places, meet certain people…those are red flags everybody should look carefully at and get them to talk about it.
“Monitor your environment. You can’t be too careful. Check your child always. Talk to your child. Don’t brush off any signals that you notice. Parents always have intuition about their children. Once you know something is wrong, get to the root of it. Don’t wave it off. For example a child might say I don’t like this uncle and you think maybe you interpreted it as the uncle is firm or strict, while the child is trying to tell you her own way of expressing the displeasure about something deep. Parents need to be careful about coded words in children,” she said.
The expert also stressed the importance of creating a culture of openness and confidentiality, where children feel comfortable reporting incidents of abuse without fear of stigma or reprisal.
“Training is very important. Things are changing. The world is evolving. When we were young, our parents didn’t tell us much about sensuality. There is a culture of shyness about it. But now, the world we live in has opened us to talk about it,” she said.
To address the growing problem of child sexual abuse, Azeez recommended that the government and relevant stakeholders establish a national framework for preventing and responding to child sexual abuse.
This framework, she stated, should include awareness campaigns, training programs for educators and caregivers, and the establishment of child-friendly reporting mechanisms.
Azeez also called for increased funding for counseling services and support programs for victims of child sexual abuse. “There should be a child psychologist available not within the hospital regular sector but as a service on the road that you can just walk in. We should have these services accessible and available within the law enforcement agents, Women Affairs Ministry, Youth Ministry, communities etc… they should be available easily without any minimal cost. It should be free,” she said.
