Bahrain’s Interior Ministry is calling for parents to promise their children not to punish them if they come forward about suspicious contact from strangers on the online space, as part of a public awareness campaign. Police chief Col Dr Osama Bahar said it is aimed at removing the fear that often prevents children from reporting predatory approaches on games, apps and social platforms.
In a message out via the ministry’s media channels, Bahar said that many children are afraid to report such messages or pictures to parents, fearing they will be punished or lose their devices, which predators often use against children to silence them.
He urged parents to explicitly state this to the children before giving them mobile devices and said that open communication would be the best protection children can have against such online predators.
To illustrate the danger, Bahar cited the case of a boy in the United States who was contacted online by an account posing as a girl his age. Over time, the individuals behind the account gathered details about his school, home address and family, eventually exchanging photos with him.
The boy later learned the account was operated not by a peer but by three men based on another continent — a deception Bahar described as concealing malicious intent behind a fabricated persona. He said the case ended in serious harm to the boy, though he did not elaborate on what occurred.
Bahar urged children to treat any unfamiliar contact on gaming platforms or messaging apps with caution, avoiding replies altogether and instead saving evidence to show a parent.
He framed this response — screenshotting suspicious messages, staying silent toward the sender, and alerting a trusted adult — as the mark of resilience rather than weakness, encouraging children to see reporting as a courageous act rather than an admission of wrongdoing.
The campaign reflects a broader push by Gulf authorities to address rising cases of online grooming and child exploitation as internet and gaming use among young people continues to grow.
