IPOH, Feb 15 — A total of 16,328 reports related to child sexual abuse material were received in the country last year, said Childline Foundation director Datin Wong Poi Hong.
Quoting data obtained from Malaysia’s Internet Watch Foundation portal, she said 15,902 reports have been forwarded to law enforcement agencies for action, with the victims being children aged seven to 13 years old.
“Online crimes against children are the fastest growing social problem today. Approximately four per cent of children in Malaysia who use the internet have been subjected to clear instances of OCSEA (online child sexual exploitation and abuse).
“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,” she said when met by reporters after the Child Safety and Protection Symposium at Yayasan Ipoh here today.
She said a range of promising initiatives by the government, civil society and industry are underway but there exist weak inter-agency coordination, cooperation and limitations in budgetary resources.
“Support to implement such standards across the country and further legislative reform are needed to ensure a comprehensive response to OCSEA,” she added.
Childline Foundation is a nonprofit registered in 2006 to uphold the rights of children to survival, protection, development and participation in Malaysia as provided under the Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989, local laws and policies. — Bernama
