“About 4% of children in Malaysia who use the internet have been subjected to clear instances of online child sexual exploitation and abuse,” Childline Foundation director Wong Poi Hong said, reported Bernama.

“According to a household survey, in some cases, offenders are individuals the child already knows, often an adult acquaintance, a peer under 18 or a family member.”

Wong was speaking after the Child Safety and Protection Symposium held at Yayasan Ipoh in Ipoh today.

She said 16,328 reports related to child sexual abuse materials were received in the country last year.

Quoting data obtained from Malaysia’s Internet Watch Foundation portal, she said 15,902 reports had been forwarded to law enforcement agencies for action, with the victims being children aged seven to 13.

She said a range of promising initiatives by the government, civil society and industry are under way.

But she also pointed out existing weak inter-agency coordination, cooperation and limitations in budgetary resources.

“Further legislative reforms are needed to ensure a comprehensive response to such online threats,” Wong added.

Childline Foundation is a non-profit NGO registered in 2006 to uphold the rights of children to survival, protection and development.