Protecting kids from harassment starts at home

The Star

14 hours ago

PETALING JAYA: Parents must be more proactive in protecting their children from sexual harassment threats, says Fadhlina Sidek ( pic ).
The Education Minister said obscene online content that targets children must be promptly reported and taken down, following the recent discovery of a social media account featuring pictures of schoolchildren.
'Parents have to play a proactive role at home to teach their children and protect them from sexual harassment. They must ensure that their children's dignity is protected,' she said in a statement yesterday.
'The existence of these pages must be reported immediately and action taken to curb them.
'All educational institutions under the ministry are required to comply with the existing guidelines to address sexual harassment.
'Psychosocial support services must also be continuously strengthened to provide support for students,' Fadhlina said.
On a related note, she said the ministry's Reproductive and Social Health Education (PEERS) module would raise awareness of reproductive health among students, teachers and parents.
'The module's teaching period will be extended with the implementation of the 2027 school curriculum,' she said.
The existence of a Facebook group that posted photos of schoolchildren was revealed by a digital content creator, who said she found photos of herself and other pupils on the account.
The account, which has since been taken down, had 12,000 members and circulated photos of schoolchildren with lewd comments.
'This group is sharing photos of underage kids, including photos of myself when I was still in school. The comments are so disgusting. This is wrong and is a crime,' said the influencer, who goes by the handle Mekyun on Instagram.
The content creator had also forwarded all the information on the group to the authorities.
Recently, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil had raised concerns about the continued existence of obscene content targeting children online.
'This raises questions about whether current laws and cooperation are enough or if we need a more strategic approach,' he said.
Last year, a joint operation between the police and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission was conducted to track down and put a stop to child exploitation content online.
He added that the authorities are expected to add more bite to deal with harmful online content once the Online Safety Act 2024, which was passed in December last year, comes into force soon.