COMMENT: Malaysia needs to do more to protect its children from sexual predators
If there can be such a thing as a silver lining in the case of Nur Fitri Azmeer Nordin, the Malaysian student jailed in the United Kingdom for possessing a massive cache of child pornography, it’s this - the issue of children’s safety from sexual predators is once again being taken seriously.
While the initial debate has been on some people’s controversial insistence that he deserves a second chance, there have been several other issues brought up. People are discussing issues like the ethical conundrum of child marriages, for example. It’s a more pressing question than many people think. 37,000 underage girls are married around the world EVERY DAY. If this trend continues, 150 million young girls will be married by their 18th birthday in the next decade.
The horrifying numbers have been in the news this week. Unicef revealed that complications from pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death among girls aged 15 to 19, worldwide. 50,000 die each year due to these causes. Girls between 10 to 14 years of age have a fivefold risk of death during pregnancy and childbirth compared to women in their early 20s. Child brides are also more likely to experience discrimination and violence.
The issue of child marriages is just one issue among many that lead to the same question - are we doing enough to protect our children from sexual abuse or exploitation?
Malaysia ratified the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) way back in 1995, and in 2012 also acceded to the CRC optional protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography in 2012. This year, it will revise the Child Act (currently the Child Bill) to be closer in line to the principles of the CRC. We have also developed a child online protection action plan to prevent and respond to online risks and vulnerabilities.
Is this enough? I asked Unicef Malaysia and here’s what they had to say:
"What we have currently needs to be strengthened and implemented with due rigour.”
The key word here is ‘implemented’. What Malaysia lacks in this, as in many other areas, is proper monitoring, enforcement and policing.
In short, we need a database or registry of sexual offenders and this is something people in government, civil society and even Unicef have been calling for. In fact, some claim such a registry had been agreed to 20 years ago. In fact, the only public figure to have pooh-poohed the need for this database is, ironically, the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar. He feels the current criminal registry is enough to deal with sexual criminals.
With all due respect, Khalid seems to be missing the point here. The idea of the registry is not just for it to exist, but for it to be used in order to make sure child predators are kept a safe distance away from the young ones. A database like this is needed to know if there’s a convicted sexual predator living within touching distance of our children. It needs to be used to ensure teachers, pediatricians or others roles that involve close contact with kids aren’t going to those with spotty records. A registry like this should also contain the information of people with a history of child abuse, which would theoretically make it easier to spot signs of abuse earlier than they otherwise would be able to.
Yes, there are significant challenges to creating and maintaining a registry like this, both logistical and ethical. For example, how do you balance the need for individuals’ privacy and the need to avoid social stigmatization and ostracism with the need to ensure that pedophiles aren’t allowed a free ride? But we need to start somewhere, and now is just as good a time to do it as any.
Because while there may be truth to the claim that criminals deserve a second chance, what’s more important is that our kids have a first chance to grow up safe, secure and happy.
