PETALING JAYA: The government may be sending out the wrong message in its effort to educate pre-schoolers on how to protect themselves against sexual predators.
Protect and Save the Children (PS The Children), a social organisation that focuses on the prevention, intervention and treatment of child sexual abuse, said the “stranger danger” myth is very misleading.
On Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail announced the introduction of a video with content to teach children how to protect themselves against sexual crimes. The videos are to be uploaded on YouTube.
Among others, the child is taught what a “bad touch” from a stranger is.
In a statement issued today, PS The Children case worker Pearly Tan pointed out that in most child sexual abuse cases, the perpetrator is not a stranger.
She said all child sexual abuse cases begin with a grooming process to gain not only the child’s trust and love but also that of the people in the child’s life.
“In 94% of the cases, he is someone the child knows and trusts,“ she said.
Tan also pointed out that 70% of all child sexual abuse cases are incestuous.
“In the 20 years of dealing with such cases, we have found that children are not able to speak up and disclose the abuse, thanks to the grooming process,“ she said.
“The child would be afraid to tell someone.”
Tan said most perpetrators do not look or sound “scary” as depicted in the videos.
