PETALING JAYA: There has been an alarming increase in sexual crimes against children, with 110 cases involving victims under the age of six recorded last year.
The number of victims recorded from 2017 until last year was 6,990, with 1,570 cases in 2023 alone.
As such, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reforms) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said and Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said the government will be raising awareness among the public about their legal obligation and need to report sexual crimes against children to the authorities.In a joint statement yesterday, they said the aim of the campaign is to stress the importance of reporting the crime.
“This campaign will use the ‘Train the Trainers’ approach, whereby teachers and community leaders will be trained on how to detect and report cases of sexual crimes against children in a school environment effectively.
“Section 19 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act (SOAC) 2017 (Act 792) clearly states that failure to report is a crime,” they said.
The ministers said a wide-ranging awareness campaign involving all relevant agencies and sectors will be launched soon.
Azalina and Fadhlina said they held a joint meeting to discuss measures needed to protect children from becoming victims of sexual crimes.
Also present were representatives from the police force, Malaysian Human Rights Commission, Welfare Department, Attorney General’s Chambers and Legal Affairs Division.
In line with the issue, a more effective and child-friendly reporting mechanism on sexual crimes will be developed by the government for children in Education Ministry institutions.
“The government is well aware that the numbers may not reveal the totality of the situation as a result of under-reporting of sexual crimes against children.
“This remains a challenge faced by the government, especially when police statistics reveal that 80% of perpetrators are known to the victims.
“As such, the whole of society has a responsibility to protect children from being victims of sexual crimes,” they said.
CRIB Foundation (Child Rights Innovation and Betterment) co-chairman Srividhya Ganapathy said that when it comes to child protection, there must be a sense of doing all that is necessary to bring the nation’s laws in line with international best practices.
One way of doing this is by expanding the scope of protections under Section 3 of the SOAC Act to tackle online sexual exploitation of Malaysian children by individuals residing abroad, which Azalina had announced on Monday, she said.
However, Srividhya said Malaysia still has a long way to go. She said there has been a lack of understanding or knowledge about the workings of the SOAC Act.
“You can be charged separately for each piece of child sexual abuse material found on you, and you will be liable for each piece of material found on you.
“Section 10 of the Act states that any person who accesses, or has in his possession or control, any child pornography commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or to a fine not exceeding RM10,000, or both.
“This is clearly a strict liability offence with no discretion given whatsoever to the arresting officer or the judge,” she said.
She added that every police officer entrusted with taking reports or making arrests should be trained and made aware of the gravity of child sexual abuse.
Srividhya said the Act not only criminalises accessing child sexual abuse materials, but also lays a criminal burden on companies.
This is in situations where an employee has downloaded child sexual abuse material on office devices and the company fails to report it or take action.
