Beware of imposters, mums told

PETALING JAYA: Lactation and breastfeeding counsellors in Malaysia have had to face sexual harassment, lewd calls, accusations that their online content was “offensive” and even identity theft.

A lactation counsellor who became the victim of identity theft warned nursing mothers to be careful with whom they share their photos and videos.

Nurun Nadia Masrom, who has been a lactation counsellor for six years, has faced many challenges through the years, but she did not expect identity theft and sexual harassment to be among them.

Lactation counsellors are trained and certified to help breastfeeding mothers. The Johor-based counsellor told The Star that she has not only faced offensive calls or received video calls containing lewd content, but her identity was also used to lure unsuspecting nursing mothers into sharing their images and videos last year.

“When I receive disturbing video calls or videos, I would usually hang up or delete them. But I draw the line when people abuse my identity to prey on unsuspecting mothers,” she said.

The straw that broke the camel’s back was when unscrupulous people used her identity to ask for photos or videos from mothers who were facing trouble nursing their babies. They did this via the Telegram messaging app and social media platforms that Nurin Nadia had used to share information on breastfeeding.

“I have advised mothers not to share anything online for their personal safety and my case has proven why I had to warn them. I was really angry because my name and job were on the line, as well as the mothers who had fallen victim. I immediately informed my community of what was happening before it got worse.

“But there are mothers who are desperate and would think that they are talking to me and would share videos of them trying to nurse, and this is what the perpetrators wanted when they used my identity for their own selfish purposes,” added the 37 year old who has lodged a police report.

“Since I am a certified lactation counsellor, I decided to open up a social media channel to help mothers. While my content was not vulgar or offensive, I have been regularly getting lewd calls from men,” she said.

After calling out such offensive behaviour on social media, Nurun Nadia also lodged a complaint with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to prevent her fellow counsellors from falling victim.“From my experience, the calls seem to be from younger men because their voices sounded immature and they called me ‘kakak’ (elder sister).

“There is a need to have this addressed by the authorities, because the calls will only die down for a while when I make some noise on social media by sharing their phone numbers and details,” she said.

Another lactation counsellor who only wanted to be known as Nurul Suhaila was harassed by men after starting her role as a breastfeeding counsellor two years ago.

“We should not blame mothers for wanting to share content on social media that is educational. Why should we hide this? Some of the comments claim my content is ‘explicit’ because in some of the videos, I did a few demonstration videos using a soft toy that looks like a breast,” she said.

Meanwhile, the MCMC said it will assess the cases based on Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.