NAMIBIA - Gelda Waterboer, a Grade 1 teacher at Rogate Primary School in Namibia, never imagined she'd be a TikTok sensation.
A video of her teaching her pupils a song about reporting unsafe touch on their private parts has gone viral on social media.
Waterboer says, despite some criticism, she'll continue teaching her children to be loud about their safety.
“Teaching kids about body safety in Grade 1 is already too late,” she says, adding that children should be taught about body safety as soon as possible because perpetrators don’t wait for a specific age to start sexual grooming and abuse.
She says at any given time, children of all ages are being abused in their own homes. Some are groomed to believe that the abuse is normal and acceptable.
READ | Man pleads guilty for murder, rape of 6-year-old Amantle Samane
Waterboer's approach is simple but firm – teach children to recognise when something is wrong, and to report it.
“[We should] educate them while they are young, and tell them that if anyone touches them in a way that makes them uncomfortable they have the right to speak out,” she explained.
But Waterboer stresses that safety education cannot fall on teachers alone.
She says parents must also play an active role, and must be the first to teach their children about safety.