HEADLINE- Child sexual exploitation a silent epidemic, says top child specialist
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KUALA LUMPUR: As the world continues to grapple with the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, a silent epidemic has been raging behind closed doors – the scourge of child sexual exploitation.
Every day, vulnerable children fall prey to predators who seek to fulfil their twisted desires at the expense of innocent minors.
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It is estimated every year, some 100,000 children in Malaysia aged 12 to 17 may experience online sexual exploitation or abuse, as revealed in the 2022 Disrupting Harm study.
However, Datuk Dr Amar-Singh HSS, a senior consultant community paediatrician who heads the Clinical Research Centre Perak and the Paediatric Department at Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun Ipoh, said this number is likely a significant underestimate.
Memento Maxima Digital MarketingAbout 6,000 to 7,000 children are reported as having been abused yearly, although Amar said this is gross under-reporting as three local community prevalence studies on child sexual abuse showed rates of between 8% and 26% of all children.
“Studies conducted in 2006 and 2011 found that at least half of 15 to 17-year-olds and 10 to 12-year-olds experience some form of physical or emotional abuse and live in an unstable home environment.”
Amar said it is heart-wrenching to know that any discussion on sexual abuse and exploitation of children is made difficult by society’s reluctance to acknowledge its reality and magnitude, as well as lack of understanding of who are the common abusers.
“Child sexual abuse can be considered more traumatic as it often occurs in the victim’s own household by individuals they trust and who claim to care for them. Thirty to 40% of all children under 18 years who are identified as sexually abused are often classified as “rape victims” and may not be referred to the Welfare Department or pediatricians and only reported to the police.
“In Malaysia, we are still grappling to improve the awareness of child abuse and develop services to support children and prevent child abuse. One reason for our failure is the false perceptions society has regarding child abuse, such as it is usually carried out by strangers, only girls and teenagers are sexually abused and children are the ‘property’ of parents for them to do as they please.
“Although society tends to focus on paedophiles, they are actually uncommon. The individuals who commit it (sexual assault) usually look just like anyone else in society and can be our office colleagues, family members or friends.
“Most sex abusers are male but a minority (of them) are female,” he told theSun.
The police Sexual, Women and Children Investigation Division reported that in 2022, there were 2,826 reported offences, such as sexual perversion, rape, obscene acts (portrayal or description of sexual matters) and incest crimes involving children from the ages of below six up to above 18.
Of the offences, rape accounts for the highest number, with 1,012 cases involving children aged between 13 and 15.
Selangor registered the highest number of child sexual exploitation cases in 2022, with 325 rape cases, 245 obscene acts (portrayal or description of sexual matters), 70 sexual perversion cases and 40 incidents of incest.
A 27-year-old victim, who wanted to be known only as Mathilda, said: “When I was at the age of 15 to 17, my cousin, who lived with me, began to sexually exploit me by taking inappropriate photographs of me without my consent.
“This was something I mistakenly thought was bullying. Then, he became more extreme and started to violate me,” she said.
“I first discussed the issue with one of my friends and she eventually made me tell everyone about it.
“I mustered up the courage to let my parents know about the matter. I left my family after finishing secondary education in order to protect myself,” Mathilda added.
A 22-year-old male victim, who wished to remain anonymous, said he was sexually assaulted by his stepfather while his mother was away in Singapore for work.
“My stepfather even allowed his group of friends to similarly behave inappropriately towards me, prompting me to leave home to protect myself from their deplorable behaviour.
“Unfortunately, I was diagnosed with a stage two human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection last year. Equally unfortunately is that I have to live with the stigma of sexual abuse, as society is not ready to accept victims like me.
“It is important to remember that survivors of sexual abuse and individuals living with HIV are not to blame for their condition and they deserve compassion and support,” he said.
Amar also said: “To prevent sexual abuse, children should be taught sexual protective behaviours starting at the age of three, through a standard curriculum in all childcare facilities.
“Safety rules should be in place and periodically audited, including not allowing one-on-one interactions between adults and children without a guardian present.”
Malaysia has laws to protect children from sexual violence but the enforcement of these laws is insufficient.
“The Child Act 2001 and the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 should be the primary legislation used when dealing with children, as they have been designed to protect children. Unfortunately, they are not being made use of,” said Amar.
Under Section 31 of the Child Act, sexual abuse of a child and even causing or permitting a child to be abused is a crime.
Offenders are liable to be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years’ imprisonment or fined up to RM50,000, or both.
“We need to identify sexually abused children and offer a safe environment for them to voice abuse.
“The consequences of sexual abuse are severe and often cause psycho-social problems, so professional consultants are needed to address the issues,” he said.
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