PETALING JAYA: A call for a separate ministry to look after the needs and welfare of children to better address child abuse has received wide support from interest groups.
Women Centre for Change programme director Karen Lai noted that there is a more urgent need now to focus on children’s issues as the pandemic wreaks havoc, while Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) advocacy officer Kiran Kaur said there is also a need to improve the ratio of social workers to children.
They were commenting on a proposal by Segambut member of Parliament Hannah Yeoh for a ministry that focuses solely on children’s affairs.
In a recent interview with BFM Radio, she said the existing welfare system is too weak to address children’s needs.
Yeoh, who was deputy minister of Women, Family and Community Development in the Pakatan Harapan administration, said one of the weaknesses is inadequate financial allocation for children.
“For instance, the allocation for the children’s division at the Social Welfare Department is so small that when it finally trickles down to the district welfare office, it is down to only RM11,000 a year.”
Yeoh added that when they grow up, children will start their own families. “However, if they had been brought up in an abusive environment, they will think that this is the only way to deal with children.
“There is something wrong with the way we view children’s issues now. If nothing is done, the vicious cycle of child abuse will repeat itself.”
Lai agreed that historically, women and children’s affairs have always been lumped together. “Now, we need to recognise the rights of the child as a separate issue,” she told theSun.
She said the closure of schools necessitated by the need to curb the spread of Covid-19 has also widened the education gap. Another issue is domestic and sexual abuse against children. However, the Social Welfare Department is not equipped to deal with so many issues.
Lai said the fact that Malaysia has already ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child makes it imperative that more resources be invested to look after the needs of children.
The UN convention is an international treaty that obligates signatory countries to recognise and uphold the rights of all minors aged below 18.
Kiran pointed out that there is now one welfare worker for every 8,756 persons in Malaysia, a ratio that is way below acceptable standards. In comparison, there is one welfare officer for every 3,448 persons in Singapore and one to 3,025 in the United Kingdom.
Kiran said that hiring temporary social workers under the MyStep initiative is inadequate. “That does not address the shortage of social workers and child protectors in the long run.”
She said WAO had called for an allocation of RM152 million to bolster the care for at-risk women and children by engaging 4,000 new social workers and child protectors.
“To ensure that our social worker to population ratio is sustained, we recommend an allocation of another RM1.2 million per year over the next five years.”
She said the money would be used as incentive to encourage students to pursue degrees in social work.
“Once these two recommendations are in place, it would ensure that there are enough people to attend to the needs of at-risk individuals and engage in case management services to help children who need protection.”
