Mobile Applications Development for Prevention of Sexual Abuse

Overview

This interventional study aims to examine the effect of implementing new tools for preventing child sexual abuse (CSA) using a designed digital application for parents/teachers. The main question of this study is How is the effect of the Mobile Application for Prevention of Sexual Violence in Elementary School-aged Children by Involving the Roles of Parents and School Teachers in West Java on knowledge, attitudes, communication practices, and self-awareness of parents and teachers in West Java. Two randomized groups of parents will receive or not receive a package of information using a mobile application called MA\_PESAN. The MA\_PESAN application is precise and can increase teachers' and parents' knowledge, attitudes, communication practices, and self-awareness about preventing CSA. This application is recommended to be applied in all elementary-level schools.

There is still a lack of knowledge, attitudes, practices, communication skills, and self-awareness among parents and teachers, so education is needed relating to the prevention of CSA. The need to educate parents and teachers is significant because parents are the first teachers of their children in sexual education. Involving parents in educating children about CSA will be effective in encouraging children to use self-protection skills, enabling children to increase safety in the home environment, communication between parents and their children about sexuality, and screening of caregivers. Parents and teachers are the essential sources of providing information to children. The use of media can affect increased knowledge. Several studies on preventing CSA have proven effective in preventing CSA, such as education using discussion methods, pictures, videos, puppets, and sketches. Education programs regarding the prevention of CSA in schools need to be introduced and taught through schools by involving parents of students at home and teachers at schools, bearing in mind that currently, there is no specific educational program regarding the prevention of CSA in schools. Social media is the dominant communication tool in the 4.0 era. Support can be offered in schools through appropriate methods of preventing CSA due to its broad reach and impact on children's lives. The method is education on the prevention of CSA by using the Mobile Application for Prevention of CSA in Schools (MA\_PESAN), which will be developed in this research. The MA\_PESAN educational method is education that uses an application intended for parents of students and teachers. The content used in the MA\_PESAN material contains material related to the prevention of CSA, the age of children to start being taught CSA prevention, who are the perpetrators/predators of CSA, whether the perpetrators are adults or fellow children, the importance of communication between parents and teachers and children, and eliminating cultural taboos in inform CSA that other studies in the contents of the research material have not carried out.