New resources to help children guard against sexual abuse

“Someone touched me, and it made me feel scared. What should I do?”

Should I: A) Scare the person, B) Ignore it, I’ll feel better later or C) Tell someone I trust straightaway?

A new video about body safety, among other resources to help children protect themselves against sexual abuse from an early age, hopes to provide those as young as four with the right response to such questions.

Targeted at children aged four to nine, the resources include a mobile game, an e-learning course and videos to equip young children, parents, educators with knowledge on body safety and protective behaviours.

The Garden of Safety Resource Kit was launched by family violence specialist centre Pave together with its community partners at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) on Oct 16.

The resources will be rolled out to schools, pre-school centres and children’s homes in Singapore.

Dr Sudha Nair, executive director of Pave, said: “In close collaboration with our community and education partners, we hope to create a movement in Singapore where knowledge is a powerful tool in preventing any forms of abuse.”

An inaugural report on domestic violence trends by the Ministry of Social and Family Development in September showed that the number of new Tier 1 child abuse cases, defined as those with low to moderate safety and risk concerns, rose 17 per cent from 2,377 cases in 2021 to 2,787 cases in 2023.

Meanwhile, the number of new Tier 2 child abuse cases, where children may have severe injuries such as burns or fractures inflicted on them, fell slightly from 2,141 cases in 2021 to 2,011 cases in 2023.

A recent study published in January found that younger victims of sexual abuse are more likely to take a longer time to report what happened to them, compared with those who are older. This was based on 252 cases that were referred to MSF from 2017 to 2021.

The study found that it took an average of about 32 months – or two years and eight months – between the first occasion of abuse and when the authorities were first alerted.

The resource kit by Pave includes an e-learning module with six lessons on topics such as being and feeling safe, early warning signs and respecting boundaries.

Designed for preschool educators, parents and caregivers of young children, the three-hour course includes curated video resources, quizzes, and online peer discussions. It will be available from November on SUSS’ UniLEARN platform, an e-learning initiative for the community.

The course fee is $5.45 for the first 4,000 learners and $10.90 thereafter.

Upon completing the course, educators and caregivers can get access to a new Protective Behaviours Curriculum and Manual which guides them in teaching children to protect themselves against sexual abuse.

The resource kit also includes a mobile game, Garden of Safety, launched in February to educate children about protective behaviours.

Developed by Pave and SUSS, the game teaches children how to respond when their safety is compromised. The free app is available for download on the Google Play Store.

Another part of the kit is a two-minute Garden of Safety Animated Video, launched in August 2023 to teach body safety rules and protective behaviours.

Pave has helped more than 37,000 clients move past abuse since it was set up in 1999.

One of them is Kelly (not her real name), who was nine when she first experienced physical abuse from her mother and sexual abuse from her stepfather. When she finally summoned the courage to confide in her mother, she was dismissive.

By the age of 12, the molestation escalated to rape. During a sexual education class at school, she asked a question about molestation, but still did not report her case. She also started self-harming.

Eventually, Kelly confided in her teacher. This led to the involvement of the police and Child Protection Services. She received treatment, including counselling and group therapy.

Speaking to the media, Kelly, now 33, said: “It’s important that you come out of it stronger and not repeat the generational cycle of abuse.”

The workplace safety professional, who is married with two young kids, added: “The most important thing is for your child to know you’ll believe them if they come to you.

“Don’t worry about what’s to come. Just make the report and know that there’s a lot of people who are willing to help. So the important thing to do is to first remove yourself from the toxic environment, and then seek help for your own recovery.”

Another survivor Daisy (not her real name) witnessed her elder brother molesting her younger sister. She and her siblings also endured years of physical abuse from their father, including stomping, whipping and having hot water poured on them.

Daisy’s mother guilt tripped her into not reporting the abuse, fearing backlash from her husband and son. The family called the police after a violent episode in October 2023, and were linked up with Pave.

The family got a protection order against the father. Pave also supported the victim in filing a police report against her brother, and the case is currently under investigation.

Daisy, who is now 26 and working as a pre-school teacher, said: “If you see someone that is a victim of abuse, please don’t stay quiet, and please reach out to someone. Because when you stay quiet, the abuse wouldn’t end and other people might become a victim too.”