LETTER | More protection for children is needed

LETTER | Recently, the government passed much-needed amendments to two Acts to enhance the protection of children from sexual abuse. Warmly welcomed as these are, the Sarawak Women for Women Society (SWWS) calls on all parties to speedily implement the changes and continue to refine legislation to meet international best practices.

The first set of changes was to the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which was enacted in the wake of the discovery that Richard Huckle had groomed and abused over 200 children when based in Kuala Lumpur.

While the passing of this law was progressive, it had limitations, some of which have been addressed in the new amendments.

With the new Section 15A, the country will be better equipped to tackle the livestreaming of sexual performances involving children, which has become more prevalent. Now, those who organise, host, or are intermediaries or syndicates can be prosecuted as well as those who watch or engage in sexual acts with children online.

Another change is replacing the term “child pornography” with the more accurate and wider term “child sexual abuse material” enabling more to be charged and making it clear to all that this is abusive mistreatment of children.

The final amendment to this Act is to make it easier and more effective for children to be compensated by enabling the court immediately after sentencing to have the discretion to order the perpetrator to compensate the victims and for these payments to have priority over any fines due to the court.

Compensation, in addition to the physical and emotional distress caused, can be paid for rehabilitation and treatment costs needed to help the child and family deal with the consequences of the abuse.

The second set of amendments was to the Evidence of Child Witness Act 2007 which was needed to address the vulnerability of children in court, which put them at a disadvantage in court procedures. For there to be justice to all, including the accused, there needs to be a power balance which is fair to all parties.

Therefore the new amendments disallow improper questioning of children by the defence counsel, such as those that mislead, confuse, or humiliate the child, and enable “special hearings” to be called so the child’s whole testimony, not just the current option of a video police interview, can be held away from the court so they are not intimidated by being in the presence of the accused.

The other amendment defines a child as anyone under 18 instead of under 16, so it is in keeping with the Child Act of 2001 and the UN Convention on the Child.

All these measures are steps in the right direction but will require training and resources to be effective across all states. For instance, the recent capture of one of the world’s most-wanted paedophiles operating on the dark web from Lundu was first detected by police outside of the country.

While our police are commended for their actions once informed, they need the equipment and personnel to detect those livestreaming sexual performances involving children on the web.

Training will also be required by all enforcement authorities questioning children, including the judges who will be determining what is proper or improper for children of different development ages, including children with special needs.

A further complication is how to be fair to children who are charged under the Sexual Offences Against Children Act for consensual boyfriend/girlfriend activity. While it is worrying some teens unwisely share intimate photos of each other, this is not why the Act was brought onto the statute books.

Currently, we have no way of knowing how many of the 260 cases investigated in Sarawak under the Act between the year it was enacted and 2021 were in the context of a romantic teen relationship and how many because the perpetrator was intent on abusing the child, either immediately or through a process of grooming.

SWWS, therefore, hopes that, in addition to ensuring the new amendments are enforced effectively across the board, measures will also be taken to enable more investigation and successful prosecution of abuse by adults, especially online, and that all children are dealt with in ways appropriate to their age and context.

In addition to strong and just laws, action is also needed on prevention, especially educating our children to recognise grooming and abuse - both online and off - and having child-friendly, accessible means to report.

Those who are interested to learn more about training children on personal safety are welcome to contact SWWS via emailing [email protected] or calling/texting 013-804 4285.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.