Beware of Child Grooming Perpetrators' Tactics

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Dr. dr. Ariani, Sp.A, Subsp.T.K.P.S(K), M. Kes, a member of the Child Development and Social Paediatrics Working Unit of the Indonesian Paediatric Society (IDAI), explained the stages of actions typically carried out by child grooming perpetrators. The term child grooming refers to psychological manipulation efforts aimed at sexually exploiting children or adolescents. In a seminar attended online from Jakarta on Tuesday, Ariani stated that child grooming crimes can be carried out online through digital platforms such as social media, online games, or messaging applications. “Perpetrators often use fake identities or disguise themselves with photos and identities of others,” she said. In addition, there are child grooming perpetrators who act directly in the child’s environment. According to Ariani, real-world child grooming perpetrators usually come from the child’s immediate surroundings. Child grooming perpetrators, she said, also start approaches online and then invite victims to meet and interact in person. According to her, child grooming perpetrators usually target lonely children, those with low self-confidence, or from less harmonious families. “Perpetrators target those at higher risk,” she said. Nevertheless, she noted that children and adolescents who appear fine and have no risk factors can also become targets of child grooming perpetrators. Ariani explained that adolescents in the self-actualisation phase usually have a desire to be praised, appreciated, and treated specially. Such conditions make them vulnerable to becoming targets of child grooming perpetrators. “So, it’s not impossible for well-adjusted children to also be targeted,” she said. At this stage, Ariani continued, perpetrators not only try to approach the targeted child but also attempt to convince parents to allow further interaction with them. “Perpetrators first win hearts, introducing secrets as well. The child starts being introduced to ‘this is a secret, don’t tell anyone’. Eventually, the child agrees to do something not allowed by parents,” she said. After gaining trust from the child and parents, the child grooming perpetrator will enter the stage called fulfilling a need. Based on information gathered about the child or their parents, the perpetrator will shower the target with attention, affection, and gifts. The perpetrator will then carry out isolation, attempting to instil the doctrine that they are the only one who understands the victim by offering various “helps.” According to Ariani, perpetrators initially perform non-sexual touches that can make the child less sensitive and then normalise and not reject their touches. “Perhaps at first the victim feels uncomfortable ‘why is this like this’. But the perpetrator normalises it ‘this is a sign that adults care for you like this, don’t be afraid’. Eventually, it progresses to more sexual touches, for example, wanting to touch sensitive body areas,” she explained. After the victim is under the perpetrator’s control, Ariani continued, manipulation will continue to maintain control. In the stage called maintaining control, she said, child grooming perpetrators will use threats such as spreading photos or videos to parents and friends if the victim refuses their wishes. In addition, perpetrators try to instil guilt in the victim and make the victim feel unable to escape the circle of crime surrounding them. “The child is still forced to keep it secret. If the child starts feeling uncomfortable, attention and gifts are given again. So the child feels unable to escape this grooming circle,” said Ariani.