Police to propose child grooming laws

KUALA LUMPUR: The Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) Criminal Investigations Department (D11) is proposing to introduce child grooming laws in an effort to curb child abuse activities in the near future.
D11 Head of Sexual Investigation DSP Tan Gee Soon said her unit has already handed over its draft on the proposed laws to PDRM's legal division for further scrutiny.
"Currently there are no specific laws on grooming a child and we are proposing for it. It has gone to our legal side but these things go through various stages before going through the IGP (Inspector-General of Police).
"The proposal itself was drafted by D11,"Tan said when met by the media during #ReplyForAll-MY, a town hall session on protecting children online which was organised by The United Nations children's fund (UNICEF), Digi,R.Age and WOMEN:girls held at Makespace Quill City Mall here.
While unwilling to comment on the technicalities, Tan said the law proposed is quite similar to Singapore and the United Kingdom.
Child grooming is defined as establishing an emotional connection with a child, and or sometimes the family, to lower the child's inhibitions for sexual abuse.
Meanwhile, The #ReplyForAll-My is a five-month campaign run by Unicef to raise awareness on the violence, abuse and exploitation that children and young people face in the online world.
In the latest report released by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), eight out of ten 18-year-olds believe that young people are in danger of being sexually abused or taken advantage of online, and more than five out of 10 think friends participate in risky behaviours while using the Internet.
The report, "Perils and Possibilities: Growing up online" is based on an international opinion poll of more than 10,000 18-year-olds from 25 countries, and discusses young people's perspectives on the risks they face growing up in an increasingly connected world.
There are 184 rape cases which involves social media reported in Malaysia last year.