NGO: Hard to catch predators

PETALING JAYA: Richard Huckle was able to sexually abuse children because most adults are not aware of predator’s grooming me­­thods, said Protect and Save the Children founder Madeleine Yong.

Until adults are aware of the grooming process, it will be harder to catch sexual predators, she cautioned.

“Grooming builds a relationship of trust with the community, the adults and the child. It keeps the sexual abuse a secret between the offender and the victim,” said Yong.

She said the grooming process happened in stages, starting with the offender having access to children and targeting a child.

They begin to ply the child with attention and affection, making the child dependent on the attention. Once trust has been establish­ed, they normalise physical touch and progress to sexual abuse.

They can carry on with the sexual abuse undetected because of the secrecy in the relationship, and the child’s fear of betraying the offender’s trust.

“The child is afraid of the consequences of telling. They fear the unknown. They’re afraid they won’t be believed by adults. The more respect and authority the offender has in the community, the harder it is for adults to believe a child who discloses sexual abuse,” Yong added.

She pointed out that more than 90% of abusers were known to children and trusted by them. They can be family members, tea­chers, coaches, religious leaders and other authority figures.