Madeleine Yong, the founder of Protect and Save the Children, told FMT such a policy would serve as a tool not only to detect sexual assaults but to prevent potential cases.
She said it should include a comprehensive set of guidelines that teachers could refer to in responding to complaints from students.
The policy should also specify that a child should never be left alone with one adult, she added.
Yong was reacting to a report from Tawau alleging that a dentist had molested six high school students during routine dental check-ups.
She said she found it perplexing that such incidents could happen on school grounds because an adult must not be left alone with children.
“It’s really strange because there should always be an adult, such as a nurse, around the person,” she said. “Why was the dentist left alone? There are many people in school and how did he find the opportunity to attack students?”
If there needed to be confidentiality between the dentist and a student, then the check-up should be conducted in a room with glass doors, she said. “Never in a place that’s secluded.”
She also proposed mandatory background checks on professionals who are tasked with handling children as part of the child protection policy.
Yong, who has been combating child sexual abuse for more than 20 years, said perpetrators would most likely be someone known to the victim.
“It’s always – 99% of the time – the case that the people you know are the perpetrators. It’s rarely a stranger in a park who asks a victim to perform oral sex,” she said.
The Child Sexual Crimes Bill is expected to be tabled for first and second readings at the current Dewan Rakyat sitting.
The proposed law is aimed at expediting the prosecution process in cases of child sexual abuse and to secure a better rate of conviction.
A Reuters report last year said 12,987 cases of child sexual abuse were reported in Malaysia between January 2012 and July 2016. Charges were filed for 2,189 cases, resulting in 140 convictions.