On Wednesday, Kelantan police chief Yusoff Mamat said he was concerned about the growing number of underage sex cases, saying that girls as young as 10 and boys as young as 11 had been found to be engaging in sexual relationships.

Speaking to FMT, Suriana Welfare Society founder James Nayagam and Yayasan Chow Kit co-founder Hartini Zainudin said such cases are hardly new, and that the surge in underage sexual activity is largely fuelled by social media and peer pressure.

“It’s very common (and it is) an invisible problem. We might think this only happens in high school or college, but it is happening in primary schools, too,” said Nayagam.

Both activists said the need for acceptance from their peers often drives children to engage in sexual activity in groups, a trend they say is becoming increasingly widespread.

“It has become quite the norm. To be accepted, the children feel they need to have a common activity,” said Nayagam, who has been a children’s rights advocate for more than four decades.

He warned that boys are equally immersed in such social dynamics, with some treating sexual experiences as a contest among peers.

He also pointed out that girls as young as 13 or 14 are already using long-term contraceptives, with some even showing him implants embedded in their arms.

“The girls tell me that they are now free to go about their sexual activities without fear of getting pregnant,” he said.

Asked how these girls obtain contraceptives, he said certain “shady clinics” have been known to administer these contraceptives to make a quick buck.

Hartini, who has been involved in child activism for more than 20 years, said she knows of children as young as nine being exposed to sexualised content and grooming online.

“Social media has become a second classroom, except there are no teachers, no protection, and no boundaries,” she said.

“It’s an invisible problem which has been ignored, silenced, and buried under shame and taboo.”

Hartini emphasised that the children are not looking for sex, but rather, for connection and validation. She also said the children are looking for control “in a world that often offers them none”.

On Wednesday, Yusoff said there were 206 cases of underage sex reported in Kelantan in 2023 and 252 last year. He said there had been a 17% spike in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period last year.

He said while 98% of the reported cases were consensual, sexual activity among minors is illegal.