Senior research scientist Yuhyun Park was deeply affected after an eight-year-old girl was raped by a child pornography addict in South Korea several years ago.

Dr Park, who is from the country, said that as she read the story online, she became furious. Accompanying the story was an advertisement with a picture of a teenage girl in a compromising position.

The 41-year-old from Nanyang Technological University, who has a doctorate in biostatistics from Harvard University, became an advocate of child empowerment and education. She moved to Singapore six years ago with her family and researcher husband.

Last month, the founder of think- tank DQ Institute launched a movement known as #DQEveryChild, which aims to arm kids with digital citizen skills to navigate the Internet safely. The movement hopes to reach 20 million kids aged eight to 12 in over 100 countries by 2020.

The mother of two children, aged eight and 10, said parents have a part to play in helping their children avoid risky online behaviour, such as meeting strangers online.

She urged parents to set rules on how their children use digital media and manage their screen time. She added that parents should set good examples for their kids when they are online.

Calvin Yang