Jakarta - Clinical psychologist Kasandra A. Putranto, a graduate of the University of Indonesia, explained the steps that parents can take to protect their children from sexual exploitation, including child grooming .
Child sexual grooming occurs when someone attempts to build a relationship, trust, and emotional connection with a child or adolescent in order to manipulate, exploit, and sexually abuse them.
When contacted by ANTARA from Jakarta, Friday, Kasandra explained that child sexual grooming is usually carried out by adults and the process involves manipulation, deception and control.
In this case, he continued, the perpetrator tried to gain the trust of the child and/or their parents before committing acts of sexual harassment directly or via online platforms.
In order to protect children from such crimes, Kasandra advises parents to try to build open communication with their children so that children feel safe and comfortable sharing their experiences and feelings with their parents.