Child Sexual Abuse � What Do You Know About It?

Thursday, 6 November 2008

Child Sexual Abuse � What Do You Know About It?

MANY deny it. Others ignore it.

Just these two groups of people itself can sum up the dismal turnout for last month’s talk on “Child Sexual Abuse: An Introduction”.

For those who missed the talk which was organised by Subang Jaya State Assemblyman Hannah Yeoh, the curtains on this topic remain closed for them.

So what is it about child sexual abuse?

According to Protect and Save The Children Association of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur’s director of training and education Nooreen Preusser, greater effort was needed to uphold the rights and dignity of every child.

The association’s vision according to Nooreen is to build safer communities where children are protected from sexual abuse and exploitation.

“P.S. The Children aims to achieve this by advocating and establishing effective prevention education for both adults and children, strengthening treatment and support services, while forging synergistic partnerships within communities. “

“It is the only social organisation in Malaysia that focuses solely on the prevention, intervention and treatment of Child Sexual Abuse,” she said.

Nooreen said, “We live in a sick society. We have to continue to work with NGOs to change the mindset of society. Many think it won’t happen to them but they are wrong.”

What is sexual abuse?

Nooreen sums it up as when a person in power coerces tricks or forces the child to do things that satisfy his or her own sexual desire.

“There is no sex education in school although a sex education module had been developed.”

“That module is collecting dust at the Ministry because many teachers are too embarrassed to teach it. There’s great resistance to teach it as many feel it might allow children to start having sex early,” she said, adding that access to information on sex was now easily accessible on the internet.

Nooreen said children from four years and above should be taught to name their body parts and how to say “No” with simple “touching rules”.

“Kids at four can absorb a lot of information. We don’t have to mention the word “sex” or “sex abuse” when teaching them,” she said.

In concluding her talk, Nooreen said the Child Sexual Abuse Act is not just about rape.

For more information on this, check out http://www.psthechildren.org.my