Strengthening measures against child sexual crimes

ON Aug 11 during Bernama TV’s “Apa Khabar Malaysia” programme, Thiyagu Ganesan, deputy director-general (Law Reform) of the Legal Affairs Division, Prime Minister’s Department, outlined a series of measures to protect children from sexual crimes through legislative improvements and more comprehensive implementation strategies. These reforms reflect Parliament’s growing recognition that child protection must keep pace with the realities of the digital age.

Recent legal milestones are notable. In 2023, the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 (Act 792) underwent substantive amendments, including replacing the outdated term “child pornography” with the more accurate “child sexual abuse material”, and introducing offences such as live-streaming of sexual crimes and sexual extortion.