IT IS deeply shocking that when her children were having a cousin’s sleepover at her mother-in-law’s place during school holidays, an uncle had asked his six-year-old niece to perform a sex act on him.
In fact, the little girl’s mother has suspected the uncle of having groomed her daughter by being excessively physical with him but she (the mother) did not take any action.
This month alone, a jobless man was charged with 15 offences involving sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl as well as keeping pornographic items while a teacher has been remanded in a case of physical sexual assault on a 12-year-old male pupil.
In the latest case, a school bus driver was charged with having uploaded videos of schoolkids, having kissed the cheek of a four-year-old girl and repeatedly observing a nine-year-old girl with sexual intention – a move that move would raise a red flag as a paedophilia.
Child sexual abuse which is defined as sexual activity with a child by an adult is the most prevalent health problem children face today – one with the most serious array of consequences.
In the first six months of 2024, the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) has recorded a total of 1,348 sexual abuse cases involving children with a breakdown of 641 cases of rape, gang rape (47), incest (127), unnatural sex (95) and molestation (438).
Earlier during the 2018 to November 27, 2023 period, out of 6,540 cases under six categories of offences in the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, 91% or 5,965 cases involve physical sexual assault on a child.
Additionally, the recent report stated that 2,272 cases of child sexual crime were recorded from 2020 to April 2024. Studies show that child abuse offenders and paedophiles have a high recidivism rate and are repeat offenders after imprisonment or treatment.
No permanent cure for victims
Child sexual abuse, paedophilia and grooming of children can begin without people recognising them because they can be a small act in everyday life. While paedophiles come from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds, they can be anyone who demonstrate similar characteristics.
Paedophiles prefer to have sex with children. They also have an abnormal taste, an unnatural desire and an attraction for sexual relations to achieve pleasure only with children.
Paedophilia is not a new sex crime. What is new is the attention that it is getting in the public arena in Malaysia, especially after the case of Richard Huckle who posed as a Christian missionary and a freelance photographer.
Pedo ini ada 600k followers di Tiktok. Dia jadikan kanak-kanak sekolah sebagai konten. Ramai pengikutnya seronok lihat video-video jijik macam ini. Harap @PDRMsia boleh tangkap budak ini secepat mungkin.
pic.twitter.com/7BzFCYC4wE— Roman Akramovich (@SyedAkramin) September 5, 2024
A groomer, meanwhile, is someone who builds a relationship, trust and emotional connection with a child or young person so that they can manipulate, exploit and abuse them. A predator can groom a child for sex in just one hour, according to the Bukit Aman CID Sexual, Women and Children Crime Investigation Division.
Criminologists found that 40% of the sexual offending risk is explained by genetic factors (nature) with 2% of the risk attributed to environmental factors (nurture) shared between siblings such as parental attitudes, neighbourhood and education.
Experts also believe that there is no permanent cure for child sexual abuse offenders, especially paedophilia; some claim therapy treatment can work but this can be a challenge.
Since paedophiles are sociopaths whose behaviour is anti-social and lacking a sense of empathy and moral responsibility for their victims, the disorder is chronic and life-long.
Crime prevention should be the priority for police but that should not be their responsibility alone.
Parents and guardians must take good care of children and keep an eye on children’s online activity. They must also dismantle the culture of shame associated with talking about sexual education by using greater empathy in child sexual offending.
Parents must be pro-active
Additionally, parents are required to teach their children to identify the private body parts to distinguish between safe touches so children would be aware of what is acceptable.
Research revealed that nine out of 10 perpetrators are close to the mothers of their victims who are highly susceptible to abuse due to their vulnerability and trust in others.
They must pay attention and respond when any adult seems overly focused on befriending a child, regularly make a spot check on child nurseries and babysitters, do not allow a child to go alone on vacation or spend the night with someone other than those proven to be trustworthy and reliable.
Certainly, do not assume that a person is reliable because of position, status or title or because they work in a place where children commonly gather.
Anak jadi mangsa pun tak apa, asalkan mak tak payah berhenti kerja untuk hantar anak ke sekolah..?
Dia tak tahu apa itu sentuhan selamat untuk anaknya sendiri.. Apa jenis mentaliti ni..?🤔 pic.twitter.com/6Y5wPKzhvt
— JalaIMisai (@jllmisai) September 6, 2024
Parents and child abuse counsellors need to provide children who have been sexually abused with the support and resources to heal and recover. Furthermore, expert stated that some parents of a child who suffered sexual abuse may also develop mental illnesses, thus increasing the likelihood of mental disabilities in future generation.
In July 2024, the Internet Watch Foundation and UNICEF have identified a significant and growing threat where AI (artificial intelligence) technology is being exploited to produce child sexual abuse material by hiding on the Dark Web.
Offenders and paedophiles can use AI to take an image of a child and make it appear as though the child is nude or engaged in sexual acts or grooming online.
Besides parents, guardians and experts’ intervention, combating child sexual abuse especially on the Dark Web that provide airtight confidentiality and has created an environment conducive to child sexual abuse, requires the authorities to be more proactive as well as to be two steps ahead.
This demands law enforcement agencies, cybersecurity experts, ethical hackers and technical resources join forces with an innovative approach to improve technology that can be used securely as well as to prevent complex attacks related to child sexual abuse and online exploitation.
Therefore, it can only get worse if we do not act. – Sept 12, 2024
Datuk Seri Dr Akhbar Satar is director and professorial chair of the HELP University’s Institute of Crime and Criminology,
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
