Special awareness exercise aims to empower children to recognise inappropriate physical contact
BY JOHN HOUANIHAU
UNICEF has introduced a tool to help children differentiate between safe, affectionate contact and harmful or exploitative touching.
UNICEF Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Consultant and Child Psychologist Dr Koen Sevenants conducted a special awareness exercise on child protection, focusing on the concept of ‘Good and Bad Touch’ at the Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF) Academy in East Honiara.
The exercise, facilitated yesterday, aims to empower children to recognise inappropriate physical contact, to respond effectively, and to seek help.
Sevenants stressed that child sexual abuse remains a widespread and alarming issue across the world, including Solomon Islands, and often goes unnoticed at early stages.
“Everywhere in the world, we face the problem of children being sexually abused. What is most disturbing is that in many cases, the perpetrators are not strangers, but individuals known to the child and family,” he said.
He explained that children between ages 4 and 12 years often do not realise when they are being abused because the abuser manipulates them by offering gifts, compliments, and encouraging secrecy.
Many victims, he added, only come to terms with the abuse years later, which makes legal intervention difficult and leaves long-lasting emotional scars.
“As they grow older, many of these children develop depression, anxiety, and emotional difficulties. This often results in behavioural challenges in school, dropping out, or turning to harmful coping mechanisms such as smoking or drinking,” Dr Sevenants said.
The UNICEF consultant emphasised that while Solomon Islands has laws in place to protect children, prevention must begin with education at the earliest stages of childhood.
The “Good and Bad Touch” exercise, he said, is a critical tool to help children differentiate between safe, affectionate contact and harmful or exploitative touching.
“Children must learn to recognise when a touch is not right. They need to understand that they can say ‘stop,’ run away, and report the incident to a trusted person. Suppose this knowledge can reach children across the Solomon Islands. In that case, we will not only reduce cases of sexual abuse but also decrease depression, anxiety, and behavioural problems among adolescents,” he said.
Dr Sevenants concluded that raising awareness and strengthening protective measures at the community and family levels is vital to safeguard children and build a safer future for young people in the Solomon Islands.
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