CHILD ABUSE

Thank you to our chairperson. Good afternoon to our respected dignitaries,

accurate time keeper, teachers and my dear friends.

Today I am going to talk about a subject which many hesitates to discuss. Yes!
It is about child abuse.

Every day, we hear incidents about crimes against children which are widely
reported in our media. We used to wonder how a human can misbehave with
a small , innocent, helpless child. This means we are losing the energy and
focus of our young generation and today child abuse is considered as a wide
spread epidemic against children. It is a criminal offense and the world is
gearing up to stop it.

Under the Child Act 2001, in terms of health, child abuse constitutes all forms
of physical abuse and/ or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect or
negligent treatment or commercial or other exploitation, resulting in
actual/potential harm, to the child’s health, survival, development and dignity
in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust and power.

A total of 5,052 cases of sexual abuse involving children were reported from
2013 to 2017. The shocking news here is that 70% to 80% of the offenders
were those close to the victims, including family members. According to the
Vice President of Malaysia Crime Prevention, Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, the welfare
statistics show that the number of victims of child abuse of the Child Act 2001
has increased from 3,257 cases in 2010 to 4,453 cases in 2016, reaching up to
2,770 female and 1,680 male victims.
Child abuse can inflict serious mental disorders and depression. Often, the
victim loses confidence and slowly becomes introverts. They also lose their
overall personality and sometimes slip towards smoking, alcoholism and drugs.
Their low self-esteem might trigger suicide tendencies and in some cases the
victims turn violent.
How can we prevent it?
First, raise the awareness around student community that this is a wide spread
problem and can happen to anyone at any time. Often the perpetrators are the
most unexpected faces. Kids! Understand to what extend others can behave
with us. Realise the good and bad touches. Bravely respond or at least avoid
the scene to prevent worse situations.
The second and the most important step is to report the incident to the
concerned people. It can be to your parents, teachers or enforcement
agencies. Often, the victims are subjected to repeated assaults, if the culprits
feel confident that the matter will never be reported. We should always be
open towards our parents and maintain a friendly relation with them.
If your friends suddenly start behaving in an unusual manner we should
enquire about it . He might be a victim trying to cop up with the tragedy. Give
confidence to such people. Always make them understand that hiding
incidents will only invite further complications. Even though discussing with
friends might help to an extend , reporting to seniors should be done. We
should not take any chances and should never be ashamed of talking about it.
Our courageous act will also inspire others to follow us.

Let’s all dream about a society where there is zero child abuse. Let’s all join
together and work towards it.