Petaling Jaya, 10th January 2024 - There has been an alarming increase in sexual crimes against children, with 110 cases involving victims under the age of six recorded last year.
The number of victims recorded from 2017 until last year was 6,990, with 1,570 cases in 2023 alone.
As
such, Minister in the Prime Ministers Department (Law and Institutional Reforms) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said and Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said the government will be raising awareness among the public about their legal obligation and need to report sexual crimes against children to the authorities.
In a joint statement yesterday, they said the aim of the campaign is to stress the importance of reporting the crime.
“This campaign will use the ‘Train the Trainers'' approach, whereby teachers and community leaders will be trained on how to detect and report cases of sexual crimes against children in a school environment effectively.
“Section 19 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act (SOAC) 2017 (Act 792) clearly states that failure to report is a crime,” they said.
Read futher on The Star’s article attached.