Preventing Sexual Violence against Children: Parents' Perception in Pontianak City

: Cases of violence against children tend to increase from year to year. One of the protective factors for children against sexual violence is parenting. Perceptions of sexual violence against children are essential, which impact prevention programs for violence against children. This study explored parents' perceptions of sexual violence against children as well as prevention practices. This study was a qualitative design, using an indepth interview with parents who have children under 18th years old. Maximum variation sampling was used. Ten participants contribute to this study. The majority of participants in this study defined sexual violence against children as limited to sexual acts that lead to forced sexual relations. The challenges faced by the participants were taboo, lack of correct knowledge in sexuality education in children, limited skills in communicating sexuality to children, and lack of self-confidence. There are disparities in understanding the meaning of sexual violence against children, and challenges in prevention need to be discussed further.