A SOCIAL worker has attributed greater awareness of child sexual abuse as one of the reasons for a sharp increase in the number of incest cases reported in Sarawak.

This, in turn, has given courage to more victims to come forward about their abuse, said Gill Raja of the Sarawak Women for Women Society (SWWS), an organisation helping women in distress.

But the former social studies lecturer expects more reports on sexual abuse, including incest, because the current figures do not reflect the situation based on studies done years ago, which show such cases to be higher than reported.

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Rohani Abdul Karim said last week in Sarawak alone, there were 3,272 incest cases reported from 2006 to 2015.

A majority of the victims were 13- to 15-year-olds, according to Rohani.

Her Sarawak counterpart, the Minister of Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development, Fatimah Abdullah, last week also said there were 15 incest cases reported by the end of last month, compared with 13 in the same period last year.

“The fact that we are now receiving more reports is a sign people are more aware of the problem and have the courage to report,” Raja said.

This has also given courage to other victims to report their abuse, she added.

“It is positive that when one case is reported in the press, other people come forward, as has happened in Sarawak. 

“More reports mean more children are being believed and helped.”

What is now needed are support systems for the victims and their families, Raja said.

Sarawak was shaken by news of rape and incest this year, one involving a 38-year-old father in the central Sarawak town of Sarikei, who was having sex with his 15-year-old daughter for more than a year.

The teen confided to her boarding school warden how her father had taken advantage of her in their longhouse in Sg Bulat since July last year.

Another case in Sibu involved a 53-year-old father and his 25-year-old son who were arrested for committing incest with the older man’s seven-year-old granddaughter.

In July, a 72-year-old grandfather in Limbang was among five people charged with having sex with his 12-year-old granddaughter. The other four were his 40-year-old son and three other relatives, aged between 16 and 21.

In August, another grandfather, 57, the victims’ father and two uncles were charged in a Serian court with raping two sisters, one 14, the other 19, for the past five years.

Raja said incest happened even though the perpetrators knew it was wrong because a majority of them “think they will get away with it”.

The perpetrators feel “they have more power than the child and are confident that they can keep the crime secret”, she said.

She also dispelled the notion that incest is associated with a particular race.

“Incest can occur in any ethnic, economic or faith group. It is dangerous to think otherwise, as people will then fail to recognise the signs of sexual abuse in groups they don’t suspect.

“As most incidents are not reported, the racial and socio-economic profile of reports should be handled with great caution.”

She also dismissed the idea that incest, especially those committed in the rural communities, happened because the abusers had no other sexual outlets.

“Society needs to realise that there are many different reasons people want to sexually abuse children, including their own relatives.”

The most effective way to stop incest is for children to be listened to, and for abusers to realise they will be caught and prosecuted, she said.

To strengthen awareness and understand sexual crimes better, Raja proposed a national programme to teach children about safe and unsafe touching in schools.

“The recent passing of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act is much welcomed as Malaysia is now aware of how perpetrators groom children to gain their trust and create opportunities so they can have access to children without arousing suspicion in the community.

“By understanding how someone becomes a perpetrator, we can help prevent abuse but the main priority now is to empower children so they will feel confident to say no, to run and to tell – and the person they tell reports the abuse.” – October 5, 2017.