Abstract:
The COVID-19 pandemic increased internet use by children leading to an upsurge in potential and actual harm from online child sexual exploitation (OCSE). This study establishes existing knowledge, attitudes, and risk perceptions among parents and children associated with OCSE. The specific objectives are; To find out the risk perceptions associated with OCSE amid COVID-19 in Kasarani Sub-County; To find out the knowledge of parents on OCSE amid Covid-19 in Kasarani Sub-County and; To find out the attitudes of parents towards OCSE amid Covid-19 in Kasarani Sub-County. The study used qualitative in-depth interviews with parents and child protection officers from Kasarani Sub-County. Findings revealed that children access social media sites like YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok. Accessing the sites allows OCSE to evolve, bringing negative effects of OCSE. Parents take certain measures to ensure the safety of children online. Parents showed their understanding of OCSE, and their children’s experience of OCSE, and classified that the perpetrators of OCSE are often people known to the child. The study recommends that governments and policymakers should create awareness about an increased risk of violence and child exploitation during pandemics. Parents need to audit the applications that their children access online for them to increase vigilance of OCSE cases. Further, parents need to have more exposure to help them understand the manifestation of OCSE. They should share OCSE experiences with neighbours, or relatives. There should be a deliberate effort by NGOs to deal with OCSE. There is a dire need to unearth the communication question in the OCSE phenomenon. There is a need to have an understanding of Covid-19 and its influence or effect on parenting. Further studies should study the communication mechanisms of the home environment, especially with the introduction of digital devices at home to propose proper avenues for communicating with children. There is also a need for a quantitative study about perceptions and understanding of OCSE.
