WANITA MCA has expressed concern that the society at large has refrained from acknowledging or reporting about young boys being at the mercy of sex fiends.
According to Wanita MCA national chairperson Wong You Fong, the society needs to encourage all victims of paedophiles irrespective of gender to confide in a trusted adult to lodge a police report once the vile act has occurred.
“Parents, guardians and educators also undertake an important role in teaching children to differentiate inappropriate touches and fondling,” she said in a statement.
Wong’s comment came following a report on NST yesterday (June 19) about the significant rise in sexual crimes against children, including rape, grooming and sexual extortion which has been brought on by the rapid growth of the internet and the easy availability of smartphones and gadgets among children.
While the rise in sexual crimes against children is not gender-specific, it has been reported that there is a growing trend of boys being targeted as well.
On this matter, Wong said the society needs to move away from the stigmatisation that a person who have been sexually taken advantage of brings shame and infamy to their family.
She said eradicating the pressure to remain silent over the entire assault addresses the issue instead of allowing the abuse to fester if it is swept under the rug.
“Especially for male victims, removing societal perception that a male is not man enough can assist in empowering more young boys to voice out, nab child sodomites or sex assailants in any form and hopefully reduce cases of child sexploitation,” Wong asserted.
“Wanita MCA is also concerned that hushing an underage male victim will be misconceived as normalisation of sexual abuse of minor boys, and that in the long term, the male child victim may later become a child sex perpetrator as an adult.”
Creating an environment of trust
Meanwhile, Wanita MCA also urged parents, guardians and people in a position of trust to be open and not be dismissive should any of their children or wards confide in them that they are being subjected to illicit child sex ties.
“Reassuring children that it is not their fault at all and creating an environment of trust that inappropriate advances are not acceptable will enable more victims to detail the extent of the abuse and how long such vile acts have been committed,” Wong remarked.
With many pre-schoolers and school-going children being exposed to cybersphere with easily available hand-held devices, she went on to suggest that parents install safeguards against pornographic materials on their children’s mobile devices.
“Regularly checking devices and blocking unfamiliar phone numbers or contacts can contribute towards severing of ties between groomers and the underage child,” Wong opined. – June 20, 2023
Main pic credit: Jakarta Post
