Govt intensifies efforts to widen scope of protection against child sexual exploitation
SHAH ALAM - The government is exploring ways to further strengthen the existing legal framework to handle matters related to the sexual exploitation of children online, says Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
Earlier this month, Sinar Daily reported that the Statistics Department revealed a disturbing increase in child sexual crimes in Malaysia.
In 2022, there were 1,621 reported cases, a 9.5 per cent jump from 1,481 cases in 2021.
The report noted that all categories witnessed an increase, except for sexual harassment and molestation cases, which decreased by 20.5 per cent and 63.3 per cent, amounting to 35 and 11 cases, respectively.
Among the total reported cases, rape saw the highest increase at 13.7 per cent, with 1,277 cases recorded in 2022 compared to 1,123 in 2021, followed by incest and unnatural sex.
The statistics, however, did not specify between sexual crimes involving children which derived from online platforms, but experts highlighted that it was one of the platforms that could be used to groom children, especially those from lower income groups.
Experts also highlighted that the uphill trend highlighted the current deficiencies in child protection and calls for a re-evaluation of the child protection laws.
In a statement today, the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) stated that under the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, offences related to online child sexual abuse materials involve six categories of offences with jail terms ranging from five years to 30 years, including whipping.
In addition, Act 792 stipulates that online sexual offences against children include child grooming, sexual communication with children, and causing children to watch or listen to sexual materials.
"Last year, two new amendments were approved to combat online sexual abuse of children, namely Section 15A Act 792 on sexual performances by children and Section 15B of the Act for sexual extortion of children.
"Given the crime of online sexual abuse of children being a cross-boundary issue, Section 3 Act 792 clearly provides that any Malaysians who commit a child sexual abuse offence outside the country can be considered to have committed it within the country.
"This ensures that legal action can be taken against Malaysians who commit child sexual offences overseas," the statement read.
She said that the government was in the midst of studying to widen the scope of protection to include situations in which violations were committed against Malaysian children by individuals overseas.
"This legal development aims to provide better protection to Malaysian children regardless of the geographical location of the offender," Azalina added.
