Suriana Welfare Society executive director Scott Wong said although a lot of child sexual abusers were being convicted, many cases were still going unreported simply because people were not aware of them.

“Even the kids who are being abused are not aware of what’s happening. This is due to many factors – mainly the lack of education.”

He said tightening the laws would be a deterrent, adding that this should be followed by intervention and prevention.

He said it was important for the public, including teachers and parents, to be better aware of what was happening.

“The public needs to be aware of what is sexual abuse. Sometimes the things that we do not think are acts of sexual abuse are actually what we have to pay more attention to.

“There are also people who do not recognise any signs of abuse. That is where we should start.

“Education is the key so that abuse can be prevented from early on.”

Wong said if children were taught what was right and wrong, they could protect themselves from harm and speak up when abuse occurs.

He said although official statistics on the abuse of children was sealed under the Official Secrets Act, he believed such abuse was happening in many places.

He said he hoped the government would reach out to NGOs to work together and achieve better results.

Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail had announced that the government would tighten existing laws protecting children against sexual violence, and hold guardians and teachers accountable for ignoring telltale signs of abuse.

Wan Azizah is also women, family and community development minister.