‘It shook my core’: A Malaysian mum’s anguish and calls for stronger measures after her girl’s sexual abuse

KUALA LUMPUR: It was the Malaysian school holiday in December 2019, and Ms Anna’s* children were having a cousins’ sleepover at her mother-in-law’s place.

It involved the uncle asking Ira to perform a sex act on him, Ms Anna said, although she suspects the uncle had begun grooming Ira long before 2019 by being excessively physical with her.

But Ms Anna soon found out that her anguish and self-blame would be aggravated by what she perceived as weaknesses in Malaysia’s justice system. Dr Hartini Zainudin said she has seen some child sexual abuse cases take two years to enter the court system from the point they are reported. “I brought her to see a child psychologist for a few sessions to manage her emotions and expectations leading up to and during the trial process,” she said.

From a legal standpoint, this means that the judge had considered submissions on the prosecution’s evidence tendered thus far, and found that he was not ready to convict the accused if the accused chose to remain silent.The prosecution then filed an appeal, but until now, Ms Anna said she has not received a hearing date as a subpoena has not been successfully delivered to the uncle.

This includes giving law enforcement agencies specialised training to handle cases of child sexual abuse, through proper collection and preservation of evidence, conducting thorough investigations, and establishing child-friendly interview techniques, she said. Police officers are also trained to respond to incidents of sexual crime in a way that is more sensitive to victims. Training courses include a video developed with a women’s advocacy group.

“Ensuring these services are readily available and adequately funded will help survivors in their healing journey and assist them throughout the legal process or even after care support,” she said. “It requires a collective effort from all stakeholders to continuously address the challenges and strengthen the protection of survivors and their family members within the legal and justice systems in Malaysia,” she added.Following her daughter’s abuse, Ms Anna said she did not specifically seek mental health help for herself, but spoke “freely and openly” with her parents who helped console her and rebuild her confidence.

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