GEORGE TOWN: Unhindered access to the Internet among teens has led to them being exposed to sexual content, with real-life cases of students aged between 13 and 16 becoming sexually active.
Since the content portrays sexual activity as being highly desirable, these children cannot help but start experimenting too early, and this often leads to undesirable outcomes if not detected early.
Penang Women’s Centre for Change (WCC) executive director Loh Cheng Kooi expressed grave concern over the increasing cases of sexual misconduct, which she attributes to the widespread accessibility of the Internet and the rapid advancement of technology.
“Children are becoming more vulnerable, as they often lack an understanding of the dangers of online social networking.
“Many have been found using dating apps or sharing sexually explicit content in group chats on various platforms.
“Some join these activities voluntarily, while others are lured by predators,” she said.
Loh said monitoring such activities, even for educators, has recently become more challenging.
“With the prevalence of mobile devices, it’s difficult for teachers to oversee everything.
“Recent cases of sexual abuse reveal that teenagers, as young as 13 to 16, are already familiar with sexual practices influenced by pornographic materials, which have severely distorted their perspective.
“This calls for continuous efforts to stay ahead of technological trends. Authorities need to stay updated, and teachers must be trained to recognise the latest tactics used by sexual predators.
“They should also be vigilant of teen behavioural changes, which are often major red flags.
“Parental control is also important as parents need to build strong relationships with their children to foster trust and be supportive listeners to serve as first responders at home,” she said.
According to Loh, WCC has been running sexual abuse prevention programmes for the past 23 years.
“Currently, we benefit 4,000 to 5,000 students annually across 40 to 50 schools.
“We teach children to set boundaries regarding physical contact and respect others, which also helps prevent bullying.
“Our current focus is on cyber safety, which aims to educate children about online risks and teach them to use mobile devices wisely to avoid falling into traps.
“If they become victims, it’s crucial to support them and rehabilitate the young offenders,” said Loh.
In 2014, Penang launched the Penang Goes Orange campaign to raise public awareness and help find solutions to curb gender-based violence, as well as to raise awareness of the harmfulness of domestic violence.
All 40 state constituency service centres were appointed First Support Points to assist victims of domestic violence.
A recent survey by Penang Women’s Development Corporation on 700 respondents, of which 414 (60%) of them were youth/young adults between the ages of 18 and 35 in Penang, revealed that 51.9% females and 47.1% males have experienced online sexual violence.
It also showed that 80.6% of males and 80.4% of females were impacted emotionally, psychologically and socially as a result of online sexual violence.
In addition, 54.1% of the respondents experienced online sexual violence before they were 18 years old.
The platforms where they encountered online sexual violence were WhatsApp (47.3%), Facebook (43.6%) and Instagram (30.2%).
Out of those who encountered online sexual violence, 60.5% chose to remain silent, and 95.2% did not know about the existence of help channels for survivors.
On Nov 10, three men aged between 20 and 25 were arrested for taking turns raping a 13-year-old schoolgirl in a rented house in Bayan Lepas.
An investigation found that the victim befriended one of the first suspects in April via an introduction.
