A private owned kindergarten in Beijing called RYB (Red Yellow Blue) Education sparked nationwide outrages lately following reports of child abuse.

Articles released by Xinhua News Agency recently reported that parents accused teachers of the kindergarten of sexually abusing toddlers, forcing them to take unidentified white pills and pricking them with needles.

As police is currently investigating the RYB Education case and parents anxiously waiting for the results, it becomes essential for Chinese parents to increase their awareness of child abuse, especially sexual abuse, and prepare themselves to deal with potential dangers.

Statistics show that there were 968 child sexual abuse cases made public from 2013 to 2015, involving 1,790 children in total, according to child protection charity Girls’ Protection. However, the reported ones are just the “tip of an iceberg.” Criminal psychology expert Wang Dawei from People's Public Security University of China expressed that the ratio of exposed cases to hidden ones is one is to seven, which means only one case is disclosed in every eight cases in the country.

Meanwhile, “sex” as an unspoken topic in Chinese culture has always been off the table when parents talk about traditional Chinese education.

Girls’ Protection conducted a survey among Chinese families in 31 provinces in 2016. Results show that 68.63% of parents have taught but not systematically educated their children about sexual abuses, while 41.37% have never taught their children relative knowledge.

The good news is that organizations like Girls’ Protection have been putting effort to arouse the public’s attention on child sexual abuses in China. However, there is still a long way to go for Chinese parents to be ready to discuss “sex education” with their children.

Video from HowToTellYourChild.com shows how parents can provide their kids with knowledge related to sexual abuses. Firstly, it’s very important to let kids know what behaviors are dangerous. It classifies potential dangers into “see alert,” “talk alert,” “alone alert,” “hold alert” and “touch alert,” which refer to the dangers of seeing, talking, holding or touching a kid’s private parts. Under each circumstances, kids should learn how to always say “no’’ and inform their parents. 

Meanwhile, kids should only let others inspect their bodies in the presence of parents and learn that only those whom parents put into a “love list” are trustworthy.

A UK’s leading children’s charity, National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC),  also initiated a “Talk PANTS” campaign to teach children to avoid sexual harassment, according to BBC news, with PANTS meaning:

P - Privates are private

A - Always remember that your body belongs to you

N - No means no

T - Talk about secrets that upset you

S - Speak up, someone can help   

According to parentcicle.com, the first step for parents to do is to take care of themselves first, and then help their kids. While asking children about the whole process, it’s advisable to use sentences like “I believe you” and “You’re not to blame”, instead of “You should have told someone before” or “I’m shocked”, as kids may easily feel guilt and fear under this kind of circumstances. Last but not least, “do not justify, offer alternative explanations, make excuses for, or disregard the seriousness of the abuser’s behavior.”