A 16 year old Sarawakian from Lundu went to the city with the intention to further her studies in Kuala Lumpur. Instead, she was threatened with a knife, assaulted and sexually violated by her 38-year-old father who continued to rape her repeatedly over the next three weeks until she was rescued on Thursday.
I cannot understand what evil would possess a father to commit something as heinous as this to his own flesh and blood. I was angry, sad, disgusted and I wasn't the only one. When social activist Syed Azmi shared the news on his page, netzines on Facebook have been flooding the post with angry comments - some even calling for death penalty to be imposed.
"Despicable. As parents, we've been given the honor by God to be guardian and take care of God's precious gifts, not to abuse or violate them in any way. I hope she finds peace in this." - one reader commented. "Must reveal the face of that sick man. If he can do this to his own daughter who knows what he is capable of doing to others. Reveal the face of this man.." - another reader commented.
To earn pocket money, she worked at a nearby wholesale shop. But despite living just steps away from the Chow Kit police station, she was too scared to reach out for help. It was only when a neighbour, living near the suspect’s unit, who alerted the girl’s mother that rescue came.
The Law
Indonesia recently included harsh new punishments for child sex offenders - including the death penalty and chemical castration. Previously, the maximum sentence for rape, of either an adult or a child, was 14 years in jail.
For Malaysia, under the present Act, child abuse is punishable with a fine of no more than RM10,000 and imprisonment of up to 10 years.
Rape, regardless of the age of the victim, guilty sexual offenders are sentenced to imprisonment for a maximum of 30 years (minimum 10 years) with possible whipping.
While the Child Registry is underway, we have yet to hear of updates on a registry for sex offenders against children. These amendments to the Child Act are said to be tabled for the first reading in December this year and only to be tabled and debated over in the next session in March.
What Now?
In my opinion the laws to protect our children NEED to be implemented fast and now. More importantly, empowering our children of their rights and equipping them with tools to protect themselves. How many more children must suffer in silence.
Give them the self-esteem to speak out. Build them up from a tender age on the right and wrong touches. Make personal safety programmes a compulsory curriculum in all schools.
Let's all drop that culture of "minding our own business and not wanting to get involved". Did you think Child sexual abuse never existed 8 years ago when I worked with P.S. The Children? It has taken 8 years and the reach of social media platforms for this ongoing problem to be made known in a bigger way.
Let's look out for each other, especially those who cannot speak out for themselves or are too afraid to. Be their voice and advocate. We can no longer afford to keep treating child sexual abuse as taboo or as a secret anymore.