Scrutinising the Socio-Demographic Pattern of Parenting Practices and Parenting Styles in Upholding Child’s Protection and Privacy to Address Paedophilia Issue

Abstract

Paedophilia issue has become a global issue around the world, including Malaysia. In today's era of globalisation and modernisation, the seriousness of paedophilia issue is undeniable. As the closest persons to children, parents have been recognised as the critical actor that contributes to children's protection and security. However, research related to "parenting practices" and "parenting styles" specifically to address the paedophilia issue remains limited in Malaysian context. Thus, a doctoral research, conducted by one of the authors, aimed to fill the gap. Based on the findings, this paper presents the socio-demographic and sociocultural pattern of Malaysian parents in upholding child protection and privacy to prevent paedophilia issue. A survey involving 900 parents representing the equal number of genders (male and female) and ethnicities (Malays, Chinese and Indian) was undertaken. Based on the statistical analysis, there were two key findings highlighted in this paper, which were: (1) the socio-demographic pattern revealed that female parents have higher interest in upholding the child protection and privacy, as compared to male parents; and (2) the socio-cultural pattern showed that Indian parents have high commitment in upholding the child protection and privacy, followed by Malay and Chinese parents. Although every parent has different approaches in upholding their children's protection and privacy; however, this paper argued that the socio-demographic and socio-cultural aspects are among the main indicators influencing parenting practices and parenting styles in Malaysia.Based on this main gap, one doctoral research is being undertaken entitled: "Do not publicise me; I may be the victim of paedophiles": The parenting practices and parenting styles in upholding the child protection and privacy in Malaysia. Based on the result gathered during the survey of this study, this paper aimed to present a part of the findings which can be divided into three main objectives of: 1) to identify the parents' behaviour in upholding child protection and privacy to prevent paedophilia issue; (2) To examine the socio-demographic patterns (gender and age groups) of parents in upholding child protection and privacy to prevent paedophilia issue; and (3) to examine the socio-cultural pattern (ethnics) of parents in upholding child protection and privacy to prevent paedophilia issue. The detail analysis and discussion is presented in the following sections and sub-sections.

Sharing of Children Online Information by Parents: The Legal and Parental Control in Malaysia

“…The MCMC reported that 61.8% of them shared content online with the following purposes 3 above shows that sharing of information online is for well-intended reasons including for a good cause such as raising awareness about an issue. It can also be said that parents sharing information about their children without the intention or knowledge that the information or images of their children become easy targets to be used inappropriately and uploaded on pornographic websites (Hamid et al, 2019). A chat group with hundred members indecently discussing a screenshot about a prepubescent girl dressed in a swimming costume is an alarming fact that parents are unaware that they are contributing photos of their children online for illicit purposes (Moh, 2016).…”

“…Parents or legal guardians are primarily accountable for the upbringing and development of a child (Hamid et al, 2020), and mainly a concern for the best interest of the child as entrenched under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) 1989. The CRC was adopted by the Malaysian Government in 1995 with some reservations.…”

“…According to Minkus et al well-meaning parents unintentionally compromise their child's privacy by exposing innocent updates on Facebook and Instagram. The role of parents and parenting practices are crucial in their children's online privacy (Minkus et al, 2015;Hamid, 2020). In light of the above discussions, the objective of the paper is to analyse the Malaysian legal provisions on the obligations of the parents under the laws to control the sharing of their children online communication.…”

Knowledge and Awareness Level of Parents Regarding Preschool Children’s Privacy According to Demographic Characteristics

“…(MacPherson, 1989). One of the duties and responsibilities of parents is to protect their children's privacy (Abd Hamid et al, 2019). Privacy gives children and adolescents the opportunity to learn about gender characteristics, and understand and accept gender roles (Diler, 2014).…”

“…Privacy gives children and adolescents the opportunity to learn about gender characteristics, and understand and accept gender roles (Diler, 2014). Problems in privacy education are seen as an important factor that may lead to abuse cases (Gunes, 2017;Abd Hamid et al, 2019). Research shows that children of different ages have different understandings and needs regarding privacy, and findings have indicated that children do not have a clear understanding of privacy (Livingstone et al, 2019;Byrne et al, 2016;Chaudron et al, 2018).…”