Namibian teacher Gelda Waterboer became a viral sensation on TikTok after she shared an empowering classroom video educating her first-graders on body safety and consent, according to People magazine.
In the since-viral video, Waterboer and her young students chant, "These are my private parts … no one should touch them." The brief video, designed to educate children about body boundaries, has garnered over 160 million views, further fueling the international debate on teaching children about safety.
While numerous viewers commended her for tackling a delicate subject, others criticized her as being too severe. In response to the backlash, Waterboer explained in subsequent videos that she intended protection, not discipline. “Teaching our children to say ‘no’ is not just about manners — it’s about protection. Every child must know that their body belongs to them, and no one has the right to touch them in a way that feels wrong or uncomfortable,” she said as reported by People.
She continued, "If someone touches you in a strange way — tell a trusted adult immediately. You are not in trouble. You are not alone. You will be heard.”
The on-screen text in the clip is, "Being safe. Make sure they put in the emotion." Most viewers stated that the forcefulness of her voice was required to match the gravity of the message.
Waterboer said that in most African households, conversations around body boundaries are not yet spoken, so children are usually too afraid to complain of abuse. Her project, she added, is driven by her own wish to be "the teacher I never had as a child.
By her viral lesson, Waterboer has made what might have been a neighborhood classroom activity a global discussion about educating children to defend themselves and empowering adults to facilitate open, stigma-free conversations on body safety.
