KUANG: Amira was just 13 when her parents found out that she was pregnant with her brother’s child.
Their incestuous relationship began when the siblings watched pornographic videos on their hand phones. The brother was just 14 when his sister gave birth to their baby boy.
Raudhatus Sakinah home operations manager Muha Anun Mohd Noor said Amira enrolled in the halfway-house two years ago when her parents found out about her shocking relationship with her brother.
“The siblings were home-schooled, since their parents were worried that they might be bullied at school,” Muha said.
“When their parents were at work, the children were not monitored as their rooms were on the second floor while their grandmother occupied a room on the ground floor.”
Muha said the infant is currently being treated for breathing complications at the Klang Hospital.
“After watching sex videos, they tried it,” she said.
“It also does not help that there are local dramas that express or hint at sexual desires during bed scenes. These are shown on television for all to see.”
Muha said there are even cartoons that incorporated sex in their storylines, and urged parents to keep an eye on their children’s activities, especially those who have hand phones.
“Usually, these children will end up on WeChat, Tik Tok or other similar apps.
“When they see these things, they tend to explore more. As parents, we have to know the current trend and what our children are doing with their hand phones,” she said.
Many cases of sexual grooming start at home and this behaviour could appear normal to underage girls, Muha said, adding that many at the centre she runs are as young as 12 years old.
“When their brothers or other family members sexually assault them, most of these young girls ignore or blindly accept it due to a lack of sex education. They may think it is normal.“
Muha said there is an urgent need for sex education to be taught in schools.
In echoing this, non-governmental organisation P.S. The Children (PSC) said it was important to mainstream sex education in both public and private schools.
“While we understand the concern, we would like to emphasise that it is important that any action must take into consideration the underlying root cause,” it said.
It explained that children who have sexually harmed other children have specific developmental needs that should be addressed accordingly.
It also suggested putting into place treatment strategies and programmes that provide for the developmental needs of such children.
“These underage children require support through therapy and counselling to unpack and manage the behaviour learned from an adult or through their own experiences of abuse.“
“Thus, a proper rehabilitation programme is needed to encourage reintegration into society as well as reduce recidivism.“
PSC said the public needs to be aware of the fact that comprehensive sexual education does not solely involve learning about sex.
“This case reinforces the need to mainstream aged-appropriate and non-threatening comprehensive sexuality education in all schools,“ it said.
“Over the years, people have argued that sexual education can increase children’s involvement in sexual activity as it can encourage children to be more curious in exploring their bodies and relationship with others.”
In 2016, statistics from the Health Ministry showed that as many as 3,980 out of 13,831 youths aged between 10 and 19 had illegitimate children.
Raudhatus Sakinah serves as a shelter and guidance centre in Selangor for youths facing social problems, especially girls between the ages of 12 and 25 who are pregnant with illegitimate children.
The centre has accepted 35 youths, who will be offered guidance for 15 months involving spiritual and self-development activities, among others.
