malaysiang
KUCHING: The Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM) will continue to mobilise the ‘Child Protection Advocacy Programme: KASIH Kanak-kanak’ nationwide in rallying the communities to fight sexual offences against minors. Its minister, Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri, announced that KPWKM, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, has conducted this programme in 327 schools this year.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the programme surpassed its initial target of 300 schools, achieving a reach of 109 per cent. Nancy emphasized the importance of persisting with the initiative, noting that Malaysia has over 10,000 schools and the programme will continue as long as cases of sexual harassment against children persist. She highlighted the challenge posed by technological advancements, which have created new avenues for sexual harassment to occur. Nancy made these remarks following a sponsorship presentation ceremony by the National Welfare Foundation strategic partners at the Sarawak General Hos
pital.
Commenting on the 2024 Child Statistics report, she noted a concerning increase in sexual offences against children, which rose by 26.5 per cent to 1,567 cases in 2023 from 1,239 cases the previous year. Nancy urged victims and their families to report such offences to authorities or community-based organisations, regardless of the relationship to the perpetrator.
Statistics from the Department of Statistics Malaysia revealed a 21.1 per cent rise in physical sexual offences in 2023, amounting to 1,389 cases compared to 1,147 cases in 2022.
