Report child abuse cases, not make them viral - Mei Fun

Members of the public who have information on child abuse cases must report the incidents to the relevant authorities and not make them viral on social media, it was stated here today.

Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun said sharing the cases on the social networking sites could cause undue stress to the victims.

"Abuse cases should be reported directly to the Social Welfare Department or the police.

"Don't make them viral as this will only exacerbate the stress and pressure on the victims," she told reporters after officiating at a seminar on Child Safety (ABBA: Always Beware and Be Aware) here today.

Chew was commenting on the tendency of netizens to spread child abuse cases on social networking sites instead of reporting them directly to the relevant authorities.

She said the abuse victim's identity and dignity should be protected and they needed psychological care. Hence, by exposing them on social media would only worsen the situation, she added.

Referring to claims that the Talian Nur counselling service for women in crisis and anyone who faces gender-based violence was not user-friendly, Chew said the allegations were baseless.

"Since its launch, Talian Nur was being conducted in four languages, namely Malay, English, Tamil and Chinese," she said.

Earlier, at the opening of the seminar, Chew said the ministry viewed seriously the threat of the cyber world on children and the Plan of Action on Child Online Protection (PTCOP) established last year was among the efforts to ensure that children were protected from this threat.

"This plan sets out four key aspects of advocacy, prevention, intervention and support services," she said.

Chew said the Social Welfare Department had also organised the Sahabat B.I.J.A.K "Safe & Protect" campaign to protect and keep children safe against crime in collaboration with the police, Education Department, National Anti-Drug Agency, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and others.