The Perak state government will be launching a guide booklet for schoolchildren teaching them about protecting themselves from sex offenders and violent abusers.
The booklet is at the final stage and is expected to be available next month, early May, said the state Women, Family Development, Character Development and Community Welfare Committee chairman Wong May Ing during the Perak state assembly.
The booklets are designed to be user-friendly and appealing to children. The contents will have colourful pictures and interesting comic-based storylines that can be easily understood even for children. They will be handed to both primary and secondary school students. The books can also serve as a guide for parents as well as teachers.
Increasing Awareness Among Children
There are 1,100 schools throughout the state, and an estimated number of 300,000 students will stand to benefit from this move. Each of the students will be receiving one safety booklet. There are two different types of booklets for primary and secondary schools.
These booklets are available in multiple languages, which are Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese, and Tamil, as well as an online version available in English. There will also be a special programme launched when the booklets are handed to schools.
Non-governmental organisations, in particular those that deal with children, will also be given the booklets, according to The New Straits Times.
There needs to be awareness among the children on how to take care of their own bodies, as well as about setting the proper boundaries of interactions with others. They need to be aware of what is right and what is not, said Wong.
There are a total of 1,141 child abuse cases reported in Perak from 2015 to 2018. In 2015, there was a total of 183 recorded cases whereas the number increased to 299 in the year 2016. As for 2017, there was a total of 318 cases, followed by 341 cases last year. This shows a worrying trend of increasing cases each year.
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