KUALA LUMPUR: Although sex education is being taught in Malaysia, it has had a limited reach, an expert with an NGO working against sexual exploitation of children said.
Andrea Varrella, a legal research coordinator with End Child Prostitution and Trafficking, said dropouts and those from migrant families would not be aware of such classes.
“Sex education in Malaysia and also around the world needs to be more inclusive and wide reaching,” she said after the launch of a report by Unicef titled “Disrupting Harm in Malaysia”.
Varrella added that teachers also needed to be trained on how to teach sex education appropriately according to the students’ ages.
“But their biggest challenge will be figuring out how to overcome their own discomfort in discussing the topic with the children.”
Meanwhile, sessions court judge M Kunasundary suggested certain ground rules be set to avoid inflicting more emotional harm to the victim during cross-examinations in court.
She said it would be ideal for judges to go through the questions to be posed to the victim beforehand.
“When the child is posed with hard questions, that’s where their worst nightmare begins because they must relive the trauma again. We must remember to act in the best interest of the child, and not make them feel afraid.”