Speaking at the Paedophilia, Pornography and Cyber Crime seminar organised by Pertubuhan Ikram Malaysia, Dr Maimunah Fadzil, who is a consultant with the Obstetrics & Gynaecology Department, said that at least three children are treated for sexual abuse at her hospital alone every week.

Even worse, she said, was the fact that most of these child victims had “willingly fallen into the trap” and some had even become “addicted” to being sexually abused.

“Once they are left at home without close parental supervision, they gain access (or are exposed to, certain behaviours), and do not understand the gravity of such activities, especially surfing explicit web sites, before they become addicted,” Maimunah was quoted as saying by the daily.

She added the number of cases increases during school holidays as well as with the long holidays around festive seasons, such as Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Chinese New Year, as this was when the children spent more time at home.

Maimunah said one of the reasons for the high number of cases of child sexual abuse was the lack of close parental supervision.

Another shocking trend she discovered in the course of her treatment of child sexual abuse victims was that some children also took part in the immoral activities performed by the adults around them.

“Children will then try to extend the knowledge they gather on their own into physical contact, either as doer or stimulator,” she was quoted as saying by NST, adding that the lack of healthy pastimes was another reason children stray and fall into the trap of paedophiles.

Maimunah admitted that the situation is made worse for the child victims of sexual abuse when one parent does not report their child being abused to the relevant authorities so as to maintain “domestic harmony”.