Hannah Yeoh (second from left) chatting with residents undergoing the free health screenings at the "Ageing Gracefully
THE government is trying to develop a process to screen people who want to work with children to ensure the well-being of children is safeguarded, says Hannah Yeoh.
"We want to be able to check their records," says the Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister.
"It would be like the sex offenders' registry but we want to make sure that people who cannot be around children would not have access to children.
"It's still a work in progress," she said.
According to Yeoh, in the last 5 years, there have been more than 20,000 recorded cases of child abuse in the country, with the majority committed by primary caregivers – that is, mothers, followed by fathers, nannies and caregivers.
She said the ministry was now looking for ways for survivors to receive counselling and therapy in order to be able to move forward.
“For now, we encourage parents and caregivers to spend time listening to their children, especially those who are in boarding homes and those who are not living with their family.
“Parents must be in constant communication and teach them safety boundaries,” said Yeoh after launching the Great Indian Deepavali Baazar by Caring Moms at Sunway Nexis in Kota Damansara.
“Teach them on what is safe and bad touch. Provide them with sex education, so that they are aware of the bad touches.
"The same has to be taught both for boys and girls,” she said.
Yeoh added that counselling sessions must also not be seen in a negative light and deemed as a punishment.
“During my time as student I recalled that when a student gave problems, they were told they would be sent to the counselling room.
"Now we want counselling to be spoken of as positive thing. Children must have a safe space to confide, so that they don’t have to suffer in silence.
“We are looking into strengthening counselling in schools,
“We also want children and others suffering from abuse and domestic violence to call Talian Kasih 15999 which is available 24 hours a day.
“Children need to be told where to seek help and the numbers they can call in case of emergency,” said Yeoh.
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