SHAH ALAM – When it comes to protecting children from predators, the first line of defence is not always the police, it is teachers, parents, doctors and social workers.
Yet experts warned that these first lines of defence were often unprepared to identify and report cases of exploitation.
Criminologist and principal consultant of Arunachala Research and Consultancy Sdn Bhd R. Paneir Selvam said schools, parents and frontline professionals played a crucial role in preventing abuse but faced significant challenges.
Citing the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), he noted that in 2020, the #LindungAnak initiative, launched by the Malaysian government aimed to increase awareness among children and their parents about the dangers of online exploitation and sexual grooming.
He said despite the campaign, many parents and children still did not know how to recognise grooming or exploitation attempts.
“Teachers and other frontline professionals, like social workers and healthcare providers are often the first to spot signs of abuse, but they are not always adequately trained to detect the subtle signs of grooming.
“Schools need to implement stronger programmes that teach children about online safety, while parents must be equipped with tools to monitor their children's online behaviour.
“More training for teachers, social workers and healthcare professionals is also needed to detect early signs of exploitation and abuse,” he told Sinar Daily.
Paneir also outlined urgent reforms to strengthen child protection in Malaysia.
“Adoption laws should be updated to ensure a more transparent and rigorous process.
“Background checks on adoptive parents should be thorough and include psychological evaluations, while post-adoption monitoring should be mandatory and frequent to ensure the child’s safety.
“This should include a system where adoption agencies are held accountable and any malpractice is investigated promptly,” he said.
He added that Malaysia must expand its digital forensics capabilities and provide specialised training for enforcement units such as D11 Sexual, Women and Child Investigation Division to handle online child exploitation more effectively.
“This should include better cooperation with international law enforcement agencies, particularly those focused on tracking dark web activities,” Paneir stressed.
Paneir also called for wider public awareness campaigns to help parents and teachers identify risks and ensure timely reporting of abuse, alongside more resources for child protection agencies to strengthen investigations.
Meanwhile, OrphanCare Foundation social worker at the Baby Rescue Department Nuur’ain binti Mohd Kharir said adoption procedures under the local baby hatch were stringent.
“So for couples who want to adopt, it’s not as simple as just giving them a baby to take home.
“We also have our own process to ensure, as best as we can, that couples who register with the local baby hatch are genuine, that they truly want to raise and care for the child.
“Because this is a trust. It is also our responsibility to ensure adoptive parents can provide love and everything the child needs to grow up,” she said when contacted.
She explained that the local baby hatch followed the Social Welfare Department (JKM) guidelines when processing adoptions.
“But if the baby is placed in our baby hatch and the biological mother is not involved in the adoption process, the baby will become stateless, without citizenship.
“Citizenship has not been determined. So there is a process. After a certain period, the child can get citizenship.
“What we’ve noticed is that the Home Ministry has approved many of the citizenship applications for our baby hatch children. That means once the adoption process is complete, the adoptive parents must then apply for citizenship.
“So from what we see, many have already been granted citizenship. That is something positive in terms of securing the future of these baby hatch children,” she said.
Nuur’ain added that while the local baby hatch enforced strict processes, they were still contacted by non-Malaysian couples.
“We do get enquiries from couples who are not Malaysian citizens, even from outside Malaysia, asking how they can adopt a child from Malaysia. Some even ask if they can adopt a child from Malaysia by paying a certain amount of money.
“So at that point, I have to be firm and say no, we don’t do that — because that is actually trafficking. Trafficking of babies and children. So what we know is that the demand is there. But now we cannot do it because there are laws protecting against it,” she said.
Experts said while safe adoption systems and campaigns existed, the missing piece was stronger monitoring, training and reforms, because when teachers, parents and frontliners miss the signs, children ultimately pay the price.