In a statement, Suhakam said the system was inadequate in protecting children from violence and sexual abuse, to the extent that complaints do not necessarily lead to successful prosecutions, mainly due to weaknesses in the current laws.
“While Suhakam fully supports the Government’s intention to enact a Child Sexual Crimes Act to protect children from sexual abuse, it cautions that such efforts will fail unless protection mechanisms are properly implemented and the justice system is reformed to ensure that sexual abuse cases are effectively reported and thoroughly prosecuted,” the statement read.
It added that Malaysia must undertake to protect children from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse, which includes the use of children in pornographic materials.
“Regrettably, specific legislative measures are still not in place to prohibit, among others, the possession of child pornography and activities relating to the making or dissemination of child pornographic material.
“Specific provisions must be enacted to criminalise the acts of paedophiles as well as the publication, possession and distribution of child pornography.”
A news report recently quoted a consulting doctor at the Malacca General Hospital’s Obstetrics & Gynaecology Department as saying that at least three children were treated for sexual abuse every week at the hospital alone.
Child activist James Nayagam said that this was just the “tip of the iceberg” and the number of such cases could be much higher than recorded.
Sharmila Sekaran, who chairs the child rights organisation Voice of the Children, agreed with James and added that parents must be made more aware of the need to talk about child sexual abuse.
She also advocated the speeding up of sex education programmes to keep up with the deluge of information on the Internet that children were exposed to.