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Child Abuse and the Acts

According to Section 2(1) of the Child Act 2001 defines a child as a person under the age of eighteen years old. However, an unborn child is not regarded as a ‘Person” and is not entitled any right. Children are recognized as individuals with the right to develop physically, mentally and socially to their fullest potential and express their opinions freely. Children should be given special care and protected by provided shelter, adequate food, clothing, education, medical care and also other basic necessities.

Child abuse is undoubtedly an issue which causes great public and media concern. Children had been subjected to violence in aspect of physical, psychological and sexual since the dawn of humankind. Slaughter, enslavement and rape of children have occurred during the war and conflict from pre-history to today’s newspaper. Certain child abuse and neglect issues are common in almost all countries regarding physical, sexual, emotional and psychological abuse, abandonment, exploitation of labour in the fields, killed, mistreated, and problems of increasing street children. Nowadays, child pornography and pedophilia on the internet are new forms of sexual abuse of children.

Child abuse can categories to four types, there are physical abuse, child neglect, sexual abuse and mental injury or emotional abuse. Physical abuse is defined as physical harm that inflicted towards the child with cruel and malicious intention that caused injury to the child. Instances of physical abuse are punching, beating, burning, shaking the baby vigorously, biting, shaking, scalding, drowning, suffocation, poisoning or any act that will cause physical pain to child. Child neglect is also a form of abuse which defined as failure to provide the fundamental necessaries for the child. The fundamental necessaries include shelter, safety, supervision, education and medical care, affectionate and nutritional foods for the child. Sexual abuse is the use, persuasion, inducement, enticement, or coerce child to insists or engage in sexually explicitly conduct, rape, incest, molestation, prostitution, or other form of sexual exploitation of children. Sexual abuse includes fondling child’s genitals, intercourse, incest, rape, sodomy, exhibitionism, commercial exploitation by prostitution or production of pornographic material. Emotional abuse is also known as verbal abuse, mental abuse, and psychological maltreatment. Emotional abuse includes all acts or omissions that done by the person who responsible for the child’s care which affect to serious behavioral, cognitive, emotional or mental disorder to the child.

The occurrence of child abuse can be traced back up to hundreds years ago. Professor of Forensic Medicine and Dean of the Medical School at the University of Paris, Auguste-Ambroise Tardieu (1818 - 1879). He is the first person that established regarding child abuse in his paper which published in 1860 entitled as “Etude medico-legale sur les services et mauvais traitements exerces sur des enfants". The United State formed the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children in New York in 1871 as the public initiative to against physical cruelty that inflicted to the children. This followed by the case of Mary Ellen who was being tortured by her adopted parents. She was rescued and her adopted parents have been prosecuted. However, they are charged under a law which against cruelty to animals. The judge in the case, liberally interpreting that child classify under animal. The public protest against the sufferings of Mary Ellen that the law only can proceed to be prosecuted under law against cruelty to animals but not against cruelty to children. This led the New York Society established campaign against cruelty to children in 1871. This news was spread to the England and led the English societies formed the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) in Liverpool in 1882. As a result, The Prevention of Cruelty to Children Act 1889 was passed in England.

Child at such a age has been force to be laborer in the mine just for the sake to earn extra money for their family to easy their financial burden.

In the later half of the twentieth century, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Children have been formed. United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Children provides an important foundation of significant work to be done to guarantee children's right globally. The Convention on the Right's of the Children (CRC) is based on four principles which include survival's right to survive; development right to education, play and use facilities, protection's right to children in war, abused and neglected; and participation's right to express opinion.

Article 19 of the Convention on the Right's of the Children stated that the state shall protect the child from all forms of maltreatment, for instance, abuse and exposure to moral danger by parents and guardians who responsible for the care of the child and establish appropriate social programmes to prevent abuse and the treatment to victim.

This, the strict enforcement of legal protection toward the children's right and avoid them being abused is very essential. It is to ensure that the children's right would not being exploit by the abuser and the imposition of strict sanction towards abuser as deterrent to the child abuse case.s

This one of the many children out there that have been abuse and do not receive any help from others. Please reach out and help this innocent child before is to late.

In effort to answer to the problem, the Malaysia government has table and amend the Juvenile Courts Act 1947 to establish the Juvenile Court and to deal with child offenders. Under section 4(1) of the Juvenile Courts Act 1947 the Juvenile Court shall hear any case under the said Act or any other written law. The Court consists of a Magistrate assisted by two advisers chosen from a panel of persons resident in the State. One of the two advisers shall, if practicable, be a woman. The function of the advisers shall be to inform and advise the Court with respect to any consideration affecting the punishment or other treatment of any child or young person brought before it. Only members and officers of the Court, parties to the case before the Court, their parents, guardians, advocates, witnesses and other persons directly concerned in that case; such other persons as the Court may specially authorize to be present can attend the sitting of a Juvenile Court. Under section 14(1) of the Juvenile Courts Act any child or young person or his parent or guardian aggrieved by any finding or order of a Juvenile Court may appeal to the High Court against the finding or order.

The Act also provides a clear definition regarding the duty of the court. Under section 22(5) of the Act the Juvenile Court shall, before making any order, obtain such information as to the family background, general conduct , home surroundings, school record and medical history of the child as may enable it to deal with the case in the best interests of the child. For the purpose of obtaining such information the Court may adjourn the case from time to time not exceeding two months at a time. The Court may make an interim order during the period of adjournment. In making any order the Juvenile Court shall treat the welfare of the child as the paramount consideration. If not satisfied that the child is in need of protection the Court may order that the child be returned to the care and custody of his guardian.

In the effort to strengthen the rights and protection of women, the Women and Girls Protection Act, 1973 which had been repealed CA 2001 and incorporated in CA 2001 which goes to protect female children who are in conflict with the law shall be placed in an institution and given special attention as to their personal needs and problems. They shall be handled by female doctors, correction officers and social workers, and shall be accommodated separately from male children in conflict with the law. The task of this protection was to covers girls under the age of 21 years who are exposed to moral danger. Measures were also taken to increase public awareness with regard to the rights of female children under the law.

Forcing children to work, to subsidize the family income and preventing them from going to school is not a thing of the past. It is also a form of abuse but governed under different domestic legislation. Under the Children and Young Persons (employment) Act, 1966 (CYPE) previously, a child is anyone below the age of 14 and any one below 16 is a young person. The Act legally allows anyone above the age of 14 to be employed. The Act does not outlaw child labour but rather it governs and protects children who do work. It is relic of our commonwealth past having been adopted verbatim from a former English Act. A child who has entered into a contract of service may sue the employer in the event of breach, in his personal capacity. This means the child does not have to go though parent and guardian ad liteum, as he would for other legal matters. Moreover, such contract of service cannot be enforce against a child by the employer. The child may also bring a complain against an employer pertaining to this wages, to the Minister of the Human Resources, who will set up a Board of Inquiry to deliberate on the complain and deliver an order. Admittedly, these provision have never been used. There are two strict prohibitions under the Act, namely children and young person are strictly prohibited from managing or to in the close proximity to machinery; and they are strictly prohibited from working ground. However, the Act permits children and young person to work in just about any establishment that adult can be found, including hotels, bar and others places of entertainment if their parent or guardian owns or works at the same establishment. The regulation and enforcement of the CYPE Act rests solely with the Ministry of Labour or Resources as it is now called. Under section 19, the Director-General is charged with the responsibility to carry out the provisions of the Act. The Ministry not only has a moral duty but a legal duty enshrished in statute to ensuring that employers comply with the minimum standards and hours of work, rest time and places of work.

As part of the continuing efforts to protect the rights and dignity of women, the Domestic Violence act 1994 was passed in the Parliament to provide more protection for the women against wife battering and other forms of domestic abuse include child abuse. It allows for protection order (whether interim or otherwise) to be given for domestic violence and would include them in the case of a child. This order restrains the person so ordered from using domestic violence against the compliant or the child. A police report has to be lodged, after which the enforcement officer will take steps to enforce the protection order when obtain from the Court

1. granting the right of exclusive occupation to a protected person of a shared residence by excluding the offender;
2. prohibiting the offender from entering the victim residence, place of employment, school or from making personal contact;
3. (requiring the offender to allow the victim to enter the offender premise to collect personal belongings;
4. allowing the victim continued use of a vehicle which the victim previously used; and
5. requiring the offender to refrain from making written or telephone communication with any protected person.

Nevertheless, there are several other laws affecting the welfare of children in Malaysia such as the Adoption Ordinance 1960 and Child Care Centres Act 1984. The enactment of those provisions is a reflection of the legislature’s far-sightedness and wisdom in attempting to combat the abuse of children. Undoubtedly, this will be a heavy burden on the Government and, families may be split up in the process. But ensuring the well-being and welfare of the children of today is a positive step towards achieving our nation’s aspiration of Vision 2020. Therefore we certainly have uncontroverted and inarguable reason to strengthen the legal protection for children with pro-active legislation. As for the most simple and crucial one, children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future. (John Fitzgerald Kennedy). There are various statutory provision which provides for the protection for abused child. However the level of exposure is not in a satisfactory level as many provisions were left unattended and not tested. The protection which the provision offers may provide a full set of clothe to the abused child but so far all of this provision have not been use altogether.

It had shown above that the Malaysian government has done a great job to set up some provision to protect the child in the country. But sadly, in the recent period the reported case about child abuse especially child abortion is sky rocketing. Even with such a complete Act, the number of case reported regarding is still increasing rapidly. Is the implementation of the act are not properly conducted, the enforcer who had the power to exercise the act is not strict enough or the knowledge about child abuse is not well taught to the public? I hope the government and the related agency can step up their action to correct it and take harder action on implementing the act in order to have control over the situation.