KUALA LUMPUR: Some 2,240 cases of abuse against children were recorded by the Social Welfare Department, says the Women, Family and Community Ministry.
This was the number for this year up till August 2024, while last year it was 4,469 children who suffered abuse, said its minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.
She said that the child abuse recorded by the department is divided into three categories, namely physical, sexual and emotional abuse, in a parliamentary reply on Nov 27 to Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh (PH-Ledang) who asked for the statistics of sexual and abuse cases involving children throughout 2023 and 2024, and efforts by the ministry to stop these cases.
The statistics found that there are at least twice as many abuse cases against girls compared to boys in both years.
Boys suffered more physical abuse compared to girls, while more girls suffered from both sexual and emotional abuse.
The disparity between the number of sexual abuse cases against girls compared to boys is staggering.
In 2023, there were 2,328 sexual abuses against girls and 195 cases against boys, while in 2024 till August, there were 1,149 cases against girls and 111 cases against boys.
Police reports also revealed that in 2023 there were 5,401 cases of sexual crimes against children while from January to April 2024, a total of 2,059 cases were recorded, she said.
Nancy said that the government takes any case of abuse or sexual crime against children seriously.
There are three laws protecting children, such as the Child Act 2001, Sexual Offenses Against Children Act 2017, and the Care Centers Act 1993, she said.
Nancy said amendments to the Child Act in 2016 have also increased punishment for imprisonment and fines under Section 31.
“Efforts to curb abuse and sexual crimes against children should not be left to the Government alone.
“Cooperation from all parties, whether individuals, communities, private sector organisations or non-governmental organisations, is needed to ensure that these offences do not continue to shackle children in this country,” she said.
