PETALING JAYA: Exposure to pornographic material has been singled out as the main cause of sexual abuse among children, and adults – including parents – are mostly to blame, said senior consultant paediatrician Datuk Dr Amar Singh.
He said in most cases, family members and other adults in the child’s life are the “real perpetrators” as they contribute heavily to the child’s behaviour.
Amar cited a case in which a nine-year-old boy was caught performing oral sex on his classmate because his grandfather had been watching pornography in his presence on many occasions.
“The boy became heavily influenced by what he saw and wanted to try it on his friend.”
In another case, a seven-year-old boy inserted his finger into his female classmate’s private part.
Investigations revealed the boy had seen his parents engaging in sexual activity and he was only emulating them.
Amar said in such cases, the child who committed the act is just as much a victim.
He was commenting on a report of a primary six pupil raping a four-year-old girl who was under the care of the 12-year-old boy’s mother, who was a babysitter at a nursery in Batu Gajah, Perak.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail announced yesterday that the nursery will be closed down.
Wan Azizah, who is also Women, Family and Community Development minister, told Parliament yesterday investigations by the Social Welfare Department showed that the nursery where the four-year-old girl was being cared for was not registered.
She said the law requires any nursery with more than four children under its care to register with her ministry.
“That nursery had eight children.”
The boy later said he was influenced by pornographic material that he had watched online.
Amar said children who commit sexual crimes need support because they are likely to have also been abused by those who were supposed to be taking care of them.
“The true perpetrators are the families and other adults. They have not adequately supported these children and have exposed them to explicit sexual content at a very young age.”
He said the nation has failed the children by not providing them with a comprehensive sex education.
“The media also has a vital responsibility to report (such cases) with sensitivity and avoid secondary abuse of the children,” he added, and expressed hope that the country will be more supportive of such “child abusers”.
Paediatric consultant at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital Dr Irene Cheah said instead of looking for a suitable punishment for the boy, steps must be taken to find out what contributed to his behaviour.
“My view is the boy needs to go for rehabilitation to understand that his actions were inaproppriate. The authorities and medical people handling this case should be supportive regardless of his actions,” she said.
“We have to find out how he got access to pornography.”
Cheah also agreed with Amar’s view that the boy is as much a victim as the girl in the case.
Criminologist and psychologist Assoc Prof Dr Geshina Ayu Mat Saat said steps must be taken to update laws to better reflect current conditions and realities.
“Children appear to be exposed to sexual content at a younger age and they also become sexually active earlier.
“Adults need to be more responsible for children under their care, especially when it comes to sexual behaviour.”
