Schools asked to teach body safety to prevent sexual abuse

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KUCHING: The Sarawak Women For Women Society (SWWS) has called on schools in the state to run classes to educate children about body safety to prevent sexual abuse.

SWWS president Margaret Bedus said that there is a lack of awareness of sexual abuse and low priority given to the issue.

“We need to teach our kids about others’ behaviour towards them. We need to discuss with them about good touch and bad touch as well as where to get help,” she said in a press statement yesterday.

She was responding to the case of prolific British paedophile Richard Huckle, who is facing multiple life sentences in the United Kingdom for abusing up to 200 children from poor areas in Kuala Lumpur.

Margaret said child sexual abuse had been raised time and time again but the country’s conservative society had shied away from speaking about the topic.

“As a result, children do not know what to do or who to approach and leaving this problem to permeate through our community. We need to change our attitude in order to protect our children,” she said.

“Parents, teachers and social workers need to open up and speak to children about this topic. We need to listen and care more about to our children.”

SWWS recently came up with a proposal titled ‘Women Calling for Change’, which highlighted, among others, the need to address the issue of child sexual abuse.

The recommendations include running programmes on child safety and reproductive health in schools and the community; raising awareness of sexual abuse through the Internet; creating a system for children to file reports easily; long-term support and approach for survivors; increasing the capacity and skills of key agencies through training; extending the work of inter-agency teams dealing with abuse (SCAN); providing an effective reviewing system; and calling for an amendment to the definition of rape in the Penal Code to include ‘fingering’.

SWWS also suggested that child protection officers employed by the Welfare Department should be professionally qualified social workers

Margaret said SWWS strongly believed that these measures would strengthen Sarawak’s ability to respond to the serious problem of child sexual abuse.

“We need to move and act quickly. We raised the issue on ‘finger rape’ a year ago but have yet to hear any development to date. If we don’t amend the law, we are making it easy for abusers,” she added.

Children who have been abused can call the Welfare Department’s 24-hour free Child Helpline on 15999. The SWWS Crisis Phone Line is 082-422660 (7pm-9pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; 9am-11am on Wednesdays and Thursdays; and 2pm-4pm on Tuesdays).

Meanwhile, Huckle was arrested by the National Crime Agency (NCA) at London’s Gatwick Airport when he returned home for Christmas in 2014.

The NCA was tipped off about Huckle as part of an international police operation.

The case has sparked revulsion in Malaysia, with newspapers plastering photos of Huckle on their front pages along with angry headlines on Friday.