By Nur Ashikin Louis
MUKAH, Oct 30: Sarawak recorded 878 child abuse cases as of September this year.
By district, 201 cases were reported in Kuching, followed by Miri (168), Bintulu (129), Sibu (106), Samarahan (71), Kapit (64), Sarikei (44), Serian (31), Mukah (24), Betong (17), Limbang (15), and Sri Aman (8).
Deputy Minister for Community Wellbeing Mohammad Razi Sitam said the data shows an unhealthy development involving the vulnerable, especially since exposure to child pornography could lead to sex addiction and sexual assault on children.
“Online sexual exploitation of children is showing an increasing trend especially involving the sharing of and access to child pornography.
“A report from the police shows that 106,764 registered IP addresses in Malaysia have accessed child pornography since 2017 until Aug 2022,” he said when launching the Sarawak-level Combating Cyber Sexual Crimes Against Children Campaign held at Dalat Welfare Complex in Mukah here today.
Razi further said various initiatives had been introduced to combat sexual crimes on children, such as the launching of Child Safety Overlay or Cactus symbol on Oct 16, and platforms to report on related child abuse cases, namely Talian Kasih service at 15999 and Talian Kasih WhatsApp at 019-2615999.
The ministry has also empowered counselling services at 108 district community welfare offices, 140 Child Protection task forces under Social Welfare Department (JKM), and 146 children activity centres as children service hubs. — DayakDaily
