Special court to handle child sexual crimes

The establishment of a special court to handle Criminal Acts Of Child Sexual cases will help solve the crimes involving children in the short term.

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim said, this initiative marks the government's commitment to protect children from falling prey to sexual offenders.

"We need new laws to define sexual crimes against children to ensure that those who commit these despicable acts are punished,” she said during a Q&A with Datuk Noraini Ahmad (BN-Parit Sulong) in Parliament on Monday.

Prior to this, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced the setting up of a special court to handle child sexual crimes.

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Rohani said that the establishment of this court varies with the establishment of the Children's Court and it is the government's commitment to protect children from becoming victims.

She also said that the statistics of sexual abuse crimes among children indicate that there is an increase in the last five years. The readings were slightly lower for two years starting 2014.

"For this period, a total of 5,052 cases of sexual abuse have been reported and most of the perpetrators are parents, guardians or those close to the children, including pedophiles," she added.