International Women’s Day
Reach youth early before they become victims: Sim Ann
Cases of online harm prompted her to look into issue, she says
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In her course of work at the Ministry of Communications and Information, Ms Sim Ann has encountered cases of victims who have experienced online harm.
"From time to time, they've approached us to say, 'my photos were stolen'," she said.
Listening to such stories prompted her to speak to more Singaporeans, to understand the dangers women and girls face online.
Ms Sim, who is Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information, said: "We have to ask ourselves, do our women and girls enjoy the same degree of freedom and confidence in the online space as they do in real life in Singapore? The signs suggest there is a gap."
She was particularly struck by a related documentary that The Straits Times produced last month.
InstaSex, which is part of CloseUp - a new investigative video series by ST - delves into the stories of teens who have encountered sexual harassment and physical assault as a result of interactions on social media.
Ms Sim, a mother of three, got her 17-year-old son and 14-year-old daughter to watch the documentary with her. "They felt concerned and they felt that they learnt something, so I think it shows that I got to them in time.
"That's also part of what I hope education can do, which is to reach the young in time before they either become victims or perpetrators of online harms."
Getting the message across to boys at an early age is also critical, she said, "so that they don't grow up thinking that a certain way of approaching girls and women online is normal".
Friends who are parents told her they were alarmed and concerned about the obscene images and messages that young people are exposed to online, said Ms Sim.
"This is part and parcel of levelling up everybody's knowledge about today's reality. (Parents) also need to come to terms with the fact that as digital natives, children may well lead quite a different lifestyle from them," she added.
"So it's not about taking things away from them - walk in their shoes a bit, understand what's happening and restore that parent-child connection."
