VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Bintang Puspayoga accentuated that women should be competent in terms of possessing digital literacy skills to protect themselves from the dire impacts of the internet.

Access to the internet can have dire impacts on its users if they are not competent in digital literacy, Puspayoga noted during a discussion on the topic “Knowing the Social Media Crime to Strengthen the Family Security” on Saturday.

"The borderless characteristics of the digital world recently led to various crimes that we need to stay alert for, such as online gender-based harassment,” she emphasized.

The online gender-based harassment has higher risks amid the pandemic, she noted.

According to the Women's National Commission in 2021, cases of online gender-based harassment climbed by four folds, from 2019 to 2020.

Online gender-based harassment is also risky for children, she added.

The Indonesian Child Protection Commission received as many as 621 reports on pornography and cybercrimes involving children in 2020.

“Hence, digital literacy in women not only plays an important role for protecting themselves but also their children,” she noted.

Moreover, enhancing digital literacy is not only the duty of mothers but also the fathers, she stated.

“Both parents and children should understand the various risks posed by the internet, the prevalent crime modes, protective tools on the internet, and how to protect ourselves while using the internet,” she remarked. (Antaranews)