SHAH ALAM - Concerns about how the community will react often cause child victims of sexual abuse, especially when the abuser is a family member, to stay silent.
Management and Science University (MSU) forensic criminologist Nadiah Syariani Md Sharif said children felt afraid if people did not believe them or even worse, if they were blamed by family members for what happened.
"In this situation, children are worried about the response of the public, especially by their own family members, because the perpetrator is a trusted member of the family.
"Furthermore, threats by the perpetrator to harm the child or their loved ones also cause them to choose to remain silent," she told Sinar.
Nadiah added that the perpetrator's actions, manipulating the trust of those involved by giving gifts or rewards for 'good behaviour', also led the victims to remain silent.
She said that such crimes became more difficult to detect when other family members who were aware of the heinous acts also chose to remain silent and enabled the acts to take place.
"This situation often involves other family members who are concerned about losing their support, especially if the perpetrator is the breadwinner for the family.
"The shame and stigma of society looking down on them are also factors in their decision to keep quiet.
"Moreover, in some cases, these sexual crimes are part of a cycle of domestic violence, where other family members also become victims of domestic abuse," she said.
Meanwhile, Nadiah said Section 19 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 prosecutes witnesses who fail to report sexual abuse cases.
She said family members, neighbours, teachers, or any individual who knew about such incidents but did not report them to the authorities can be charged under the Act.
"It is very sad to think about children not being safe even within their own homes with their own family members," she added.