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immy Wijaya, a 40-year-old single parent with a 12-year-old son, does not avoid talking about sexuality with his children.

Believing that sex education should begin in the family, he does not forbid his son, Gilang M. Ramdhani, from accessing the internet with a personal gadget, even amid concerns over rampant pornographic content online.

“Instead of covering my son’s eyes when a kissing scene appears in a movie, or when pornographic pictures pop up on the [gadget] screen, I choose to use those moments to educate him about sexuality,” Timmy said. “I would tell him that certain things are only allowed to be done by adults. I know he is curious about this, so I should do something and show that I trust him.”

However, Timmy is one of an exceptional few. Most parents do not care enough to talk to their children about sexuality, which many perceive as taboo.

Timmy realizes that as a parent, he has the responsibility to protect his child from being a victim of sexual abuse or, even worse, being a perpetrator, as surveys have found that an alarming number of child sexual abuse cases are perpetrated by the children’s own peers.

The 2014 National Social Economy Survey (Susenas) conducted by the Central Statistics Bureau (BPS) revealed that 30 percent of cases of sexual violence against children were committed by minors.

A follow-up study commissioned by the Social Affairs Ministry found more surprising data: all perpetrators of the crime between 2014 and 2017 were boys aged between 11-18 years.

Around 67 percent of the sexual assaults were committed by way of physical force, according to the study, which was announced recently and involved an NGO that campaigns for the elimination of child sexual exploitation, called ECPAT Indonesia.

But the trend has decreased over the past three years, according to a report released by the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI).

The number of children falling victim to sexual violence dropped to 130 in 2016, from 218 in 2015 and 656 in 2014. The number of child perpetrators, meanwhile, fell to 86 in 2016, from 157 in 2015 and 561 in 2014.

However, KPAI chairman Susanto said that sexual violence among minors remains a major threat to children.

“We should take immediate action to bring the numbers down. It is a serious issue that requires hard work by multiple parties,” Susanto said.

Pornography on the internet, he said, is one of the main factors that shape aggressive sexual behavior among children, and, therefore, the government should start building a stronger system to block pornographic materials.

The latest research conducted by the Social Affairs Ministry and ECPAT concluded that 43 percent of child sexual abusers committed the crime after watching porn. Another 33 percent admitted to sexually abusing their friends due to peer pressure, according to the study.

But the data is feared to be only the tip of an iceberg, particularly as the country is still lacking in rehabilitation, medication and psychological counseling for the children involved.

Gisella Tani Pratiwi, a psychologist from the Pulih Foundation, said that sex abusers who are minors are also considered as victims of a bad social environment, and that both victims and perpetrators need therapy with different approaches.

“For the victims, we should focus on treating their trauma. For the perpetrators, we should help them lose their sexually abusive habits,” she said, adding that psychologists should not be the only source of therapy.

Many institutions now have special departments dedicated to the issue, such as the National Police’s Women and Children Protection (PPA) unit, the KPAI, the Social Affairs Ministry, and the Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry.

“What these institutions need is better cooperation,” Gisella said. (vla)