T

he news about the alleged rape of a kindergarten student in a toilet at Jakarta International School (JIS), has sent shock waves through the city.

Social media users have been sharing links containing tips on how to teach children about '€œgood touches and bad touches'€ like the Council of Europe'€™s educational kit about the Underwear Rule (underwearrule.org) and tips from the US-based Committee for Children (cfchildren.org).

Schools and parents also held events on Wednesday to discuss prevention.

A petition calling for the severe punishment of pedophiles on Change.org has garnered more than 28,000 signatures since Tuesday, as of Wednesday.

The founder of Change.org Indonesia, Arief Aziz, said that the petition was the fastest supported petition on the site. '€œIndonesians seem angry as pedophiles seem to escape heavy punishment,'€ he added.

Lia, 39, a mother of a teenager, said that schools should consider incorporating lessons on toddlers'€™ private areas so that they could understand what actions were inappropriate.

She said the need for such lessons was important as children nowadays were curious about their bodies. '€œThere was a case in a school were a child invited her friend to the bathroom and groped her friend,'€ she said.

Imey, 35, a mother of a second grader, said that because the schools did not give such lessons, she taught her daughter herself.

Family psychologist Alissa Wahid suggested that parents should teach their children about their body and to respect others people'€™s bodies from around aged 3.

She said that children were innocent as they did not understand what was going on around them and behaved in accordance with what they had learned from their parents or teachers.

'€œBecause they were still innocent, schools should have a safety standard,'€ Alissa told The Jakarta Post.

Schools in Indonesia still lag behind schools in Australia or the UK regarding safety standards, she said.

She said that to create a sound environment for children, schools had to be more careful when recruiting.

'€œSchools must be more selective when screening prospective staff. They should pick staff who care about children,'€ she said.

She said that the design of school buildings was important. '€œFor example, the toilet should be designed so that people near the toilet can hear, in case of accidents,'€ she said.

Alissa said that when toddlers were being toilet trained, parents should teach them that no one should touch their private areas besides their parents or trusted people.

Some parents in South Tangerang have raised awareness while schools introduced preventive measures to ensure child safety.

Dewi, a mother of an elementary school student and a kindergarten student, along with her husband, visited her younger child'€™s kindergarten in the BSD housing complex in South Tangerang on Wednesday to discuss the latest issue with the teachers.

'€œI was really worried so I initiated the meeting to discuss safety in school,'€ Dewi said.

'€œThe teachers explained that they had taught the students, even though they were still in kindergarten, to be aware of their body. The students were taught to take off and put on shorts inside the toilet and that their bodies belonged to them so whoever wanted to hug or touch them should ask their permission and that they can say no,'€ she said.

Dewi pointed out that many other schools also introduced preventive measures.

'€œMentari International School in Bintaro was among the responsive schools '€” it emailed parents with action steps to prevent similar occurrences, including a rule that grade 1 and 2 students would be accompanied by teachers when they need to go to the restroom,'€ she said.

Another parent, Qudsiyah, said that she had also contacted her child'€™s kindergarten in Bintaro, South Jakarta, to discuss its policies.

'€œFortunately, my child'€™s school was very responsive. Today they introduced a new policy that students will be assisted by teachers when they needed to go to the restroom. They also set toilet time and will introduce sex education for children provided by a psychologist,'€ she said.

At home, Qudsiyah ensured that her little girl understood about her private body parts.

'€œI have taught my girl to protect her body parts since she was 3. She'€™s used to not leaving the bathroom naked and she understands that she should protect her private areas,'€ Qudsiyah said. (ask)