Last April, the #MeToo scandal was exposed among the Malaysian school campuses. It began with a student using the AI technology deepfaking indecent photos of another student, to another scandal of a student being sexually harassed by a teacher. These incidents gained public attention after they went viral on social media, and the police arrested the offender in response.     

In fact, the two scandals mentioned above were unrelated; they occurred at different times and under different circumstances. However, these two incidents have one thing in common that is, the victims stood out boldly and retold their stories. They are willing to be witnesses to prove their words. This one common thing became the spark for the bushfire, especially when it was revealed that, when the victims filed complaints at the initial stage, they did not receive protection, but instead were treated coldly with excuses such as the need to protect the school’s reputation, or give other people a chance, the worst was when the victim was being rebutted as the party at fault. How are we not feeling despondent and heartache when the victims were being double abused? 
   

Simultaneously, in ROC Taiwan, a 2023 case in which a child was abused to death by his nanny has just started trials in court. Little Kai Kai, who was then not even 2 years old, was placed under the care of his nanny when his father couldn’t be contacted and his mother was jailed in prison. The boy was living in an abusive environment for a long period. He was constantly being punished, standing naked for no reason, being fed with dirty water and left over food, taking cold showers during winter, and lastly, his body was full of old and new wounds and bruises. His predicament was only discovered when he was admitted to the hospital due to severe injuries, which ended in death. This incident aroused public anger; consequently, a series of examinations and discussions of children’s protection mechanisms were carried out.          


Yes, protecting children is everybody’s responsibility. When a family becomes dysfunctional, does society have a safety net to take over? Do churches have standard prevention measures in child protection or standard protocols in dealing with it? When a child sends an SOS message out, will you be able to recognise that an alarming situation is happening, and know how to intervene? You might find it unbelievable, but it is true, our actual distance from an evil scheme is shorter than you think.  

Before this article is completed, another unfortunate incident happened, in which a little boy was stranded on a bus and suffocated to death. When the incident was being reviewed, they found that many steps could be taken to avoid such negligence from recurring. Suggested protocols such as instructing all bus drivers to run a thorough check, ensuring no child is left in the vehicle before leaving the vehicle. As for the teachers, they need to pay attention and check up on absent children.


7979 has taken the effort to set up a “Children’s Protection Committee” to raise public awareness by organising awareness seminars, which will cover different perspectives such as policy-making, national legal system, moral and ethical values. If you are interested in joining us in this area or would like to seek some advice or even to file a complaint, please do not hesitate to contact 013-7917979 (call or WhatsApp both acceptable).