SHAH ALAM - Most sexual crimes involving women and children happen to people from poor backgrounds but this can be addressed by lifting them out of poverty.
Selangor Women's Development and Community Welfare Exco Anfaal Saari said the information was obtained based on a town hall report from the Selangor Contingent Police Headquarters (IPK) last week.
"A total of 134 cases were reported by the Sexual, Women and Children Investigation Division (D11), almost 100 per cent of which involved low-income groups (B40).
"I care and take full responsibility that we have to remove those in this urban area from the urban poor level.
"The first thing we need to help is those in the B40 category. This is about the issue of their income, economy and social mobility that needs to be part of the government's responsibility," she said.
She said this in the Sinar Wacana Series 441 titled 'Monsters' in the house which took place at the Karangkraf Group Complex here, on Tuesday.
Apart from helping them get out of the urban poor, Anfaal said another way to curb the problem was to increase advocacy on sexual crimes.
She said that a safe country was not only about prosperity but forming a society that was loving and caring for each other as well as aware of what was happening around them.
Anfaal said that forming a caring society was important because they indirectly tried to be the first among non-family members to notice the changes in individuals who were victims of sexual crimes.
"It is important for the first responder to know because, on the government side, federal agencies in the state such as the Department of Social Welfare (JKM) continue efforts from 2023 through the Kasih Programme which is child protection advocacy through schools.
"JKM collaborated with the Women's Development Department (JPW), the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (SKMM) to hold a briefing for teachers and parents about cyber security in surfing the internet safely," she said.