For the sake of children

By SARAH CHEW and EE-LYN TAN
educate@thestar.com.my 

With increasing cases of kidnapping, missing children and violence against children being highlighted in the media, many believe there is a need to give more thought to safety. 

NO CHILD deserves the fate of Nurin Jazlin Jazimin, who went missing and was found brutally murdered close to a month later. So what is going to be done to prevent such tragedies from happening again?  

From non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to parents and educators, there is general agreement that an effective system for educating children on personal safety is needed. 

Malaysian Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association chairman K. Balasupramaniam believes that ignorance on the part of both children and parents is contributing to the problem. 

“Many people fail to do risk assessment, or many of these cases could have been prevented,” says the safety activist. 

“Do you know where your daughter is? Where and who is she playing with? Did you tell her where should she run to if she comes down from the bus and someone comes after her?” 

A young child, he points out, needs to be told such things and parents should develop a relationship with their children so that they know what goes on in their lives. 

Whose job is it?
So what can be done to tackle the ignorance? Some NGOs have been conducting awareness programmes or campaigns and are gladly offering assistance. 

Protect and Save the Children Association of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur (P.S. The Children) operations director Sonny Lim gives an idea of what can be taught in a personal safety programme like the one the association has been conducting for a few years. 

“Key concepts are understanding your body, teaching the vocabulary, touch continuum of safe and unsafe touches, and self-esteem or understanding your feelings,” he explains.  

“There are personal safety rules such as ‘say no, run and tell’, ‘tell and tell until someone believes you’ and ‘no one can touch my private parts except to keep me clean and healthy’.” 

He admits, however, that NGOs are limited in the scope of which they can educate children, so P.S. The Children worked with the Education Ministry and the Welfare Department last year to run a pilot project for Form One students to introduce their programme over eight sessions.  

This year, a pilot programme for primary schools was launched in 10 schools in the Klang Valley as a co-curricular activity. 

According to Bala, educating students on safety should be a “community burden” rather than a teacher’s responsibility. 

BALA: Parents should develop a relationship with their children.

If teachers are required to teach such things on top of their existing load, they will resent it, he says, adding that students may not listen carefully to their teachers on such matters since they are familiar figures. 

”NGOs should combine their efforts and do a roadshow. This can be done by even the parent-teacher associations and the Rotary and Lions Clubs,” he notes. 

Shelter Home for Children executive director James Nayagam, who has seen numerous cases of violence against children, says the school plays a crucial role in preventing and exposing such incidents. 

“In our 25 years of experience, other than the home, the school is the best place for children to be taught protection,” he says, adding that schools can hold seminars and talks and put up posters. 

The school, he reveals, can also contribute to reporting cases of abuse as children usually confide in their peers, and if teachers have a good relationship with their students, they will recognise changes in a child. 

SMK Seri Ampangan, Seremban teacher Ganeish Balakrishnan, also a parent of three children aged two, five and 12, stresses that creating awareness should not be done just in reaction to a tragedy. 

“Teachers need to educate children in school continuously, telling them of dangers, because some parents don't take such dangers seriously.” 

This is precisely what some schools like SK Taman Megah, Petaling Jaya, are doing. 

ELIZABETH: There are many “wolves” out there and we need to be the police.

“At assembly, we will always remind the children not to follow strangers,” says acting senior assistant (student affairs) Nur Hidayu Goh Abdullah, also a parent of boys aged five, 10 and 13. 

“And for the Year One pupils, the teachers will repeat that in class every week.” 

Onus on whom?
National Parent-Teacher Associations Collaborative Council president Associate Prof Dr Mohd Ali Hassan says parents need to be aware that they cannot afford to let their children out of their sight at any time. 

“It's a parent's duty to keep their children safe as children don't know what dangers lie out in the world as much as they want to be brave and be on their own,” he says. 

Union of National Heads of Schools president Pang Cong Leong concurs that it is unsafe for children the moment their parents are not keeping an eye on them. 

“This is why it is important to teach children to protect themselves and increase their awareness of danger,” he says. 

Malaysian Child Resources Institute adviser Ruth Liew Seow Peng is of the view that educating the parents is just as important as educating children. 

“Parents are the first line of protection for a child, so it is important that they teach a child at every step of their passage towards adulthood.” 

Parents, she adds, should take courses to know fully what it takes to care for their children. 

“They also need to talk to their children about avoiding strangers and being vigilant of people approaching them and assessing what their intentions are,” she says. 

Liew points out that a child can be taught from a very young age to use his voice, citing instances when children were asked what they would say if a stranger touched them inappropriately. 

“Most of them said very quietly: 'Don't touch me.' Instead, they should be shouting: “Don't touch me!', and running away,” she observes. 

To address such issues related to the welfare of children, Liew believes a special task force should be established involving various relevant parties. 

“The police, the Education Ministry, the Welfare Department and even civil society are some of the parties that should come together,” she says. 

What is needed?
Women’s Aid Organisation executive director Ivy Josiah agrees that this is not the time to judge and be pointing fingers. 

The community as a whole should play a part in ensuring the safety of children by being aware of strangers loitering in the neighbourhood, she says. 

Children, she adds, should be taught about responding appropriately in relation to their personal safety. 

“Once they have been taught, children need to build up their confidence to trust their own instincts when they think something doesn't seem right.”  

Women’s Centre for Change (WCC) programme director Dr Prema Devaraj concurs that there should be regular education sessions for the community on such issues. 

Children can learn to be more aware of safety through materials such as those used in the “Bijak Itu Selamat” programme, presented here by Dr Prema.

“These sessions will help to raise the level of awareness of parents and the community to be more vigilant about the whereabouts and safety of their children,” she says. 

Dr Prema believes it is essential that regular personal safety programmes for children be conducted as early as preschool. 

“These programmes can help to reduce the risk of child sexual abuse and they can help a child be more aware of dangerous situations or seek help should the need arise,” she says. 

These programmes, she adds, should also include children with disabilities as they are more vulnerable. 

WCC has been working on the prevention of child sexual abuse with primary school children though a one-hour programme on personal safety called Bijak Itu Selamat (Be Smart Be Safe), targeting 11 to 12- year-olds. 

Under the programme, the centre teaches children to differentiate between good and bad touches and guide them in looking at what should be done in various situations. Children are also encouraged to tell someone should they feel at risk. 

Over the last six years, this programme has been conducted for primary school teachers in Penang, Perlis, Kedah and Kelantan with the support of the respective state education departments. 

WCC regularly conducts workshops for children as well as for school counsellors and educators. It also works with younger children using a modified version of the programme.  

SJK(T) Simpang Lima, Klang, headmistress Y.R. Elizabeth Annaranjitham shares the view that the community in general should keep their eyes open at all times. 

People, she adds, need to step out of their comfort zone and be more concerned. 

“It doesn't matter even if it's not your child. There are many 'wolves' out there and we need to be the police.”