High number of sexual harassment cases involving children worrying, says Nancy

SERDANG: Sexual harassment cases involving children is showing a worrying trend with 35 cases reported in 2022, says Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.

The Women, Family and Community Development Minister said the number of cases does not reflect the actual situation as there are many unreported cases around the country due to various factors.

“Some parents may feel ashamed to make report while children do not know how to,” she said at a press conference after launching the Selangor-level Jerayawara Kasih KPWKM@Advokasi Antigangguan Seksual, an anti-sexual harassment advocacy roadshow, here on Thursday (Aug 3).

Nancy said sexual harassment can cause trauma to children and have long-term effects, especially when the perpetrators are close to the victims, such as a father or brother.

“We don’t want these kinds of cases to become the norm because if they are disturbed from childhood, they might think that this is normal human behaviour,” she said.

According to police statistics, a total of 378 adult sexual harassment cases were reported in 2020, and the number rose to 506 cases in 2021.

Nancy said there are still many people who are afraid to report cases of sexual harassment to the authorities due to shame and fear.

She said the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry is ready to assist victims with counselling and psychological services, but victims are also advised to lodge a police report.

“Counselling alone is not enough, action must also be taken,” she said.

The advocacy programme educates and provides information to the community about sexual harassment. It also aims to raise awareness so that the culture of normalising sexual harassment is eliminated.

In a separate development, Nancy said the ministry is waiting for the police report on the incident where a 40-day-old baby was hurled to the floor and a three-year-old child was thrown by their uncle from the first floor of an apartment building in Penang Wednesday (Aug 2).

“The case is still being investigated. We have to wait for a proper report to make sure we do the right thing,” she said.

It was reported that the baby suffered injuries to her head while the three-year-old suffered a broken leg and bleeding from the mouth. – BK