MalayMail-Nov 24
Non-consensual sexual content — from sextortion to coerced or self-generated intimate images involving minors — is now the most severe online harm faced by children in Malaysia, Unicef revealed, warning that most young victims never report what happened to them. Speaking to Malay Mail at the Asean ICT Forum on Child Protection, Unicef Malaysia deputy representative Sanja Saranovic said sexualised online abuse has overtaken bullying and scams as the most damaging threat to children, yet remains the least likely to be disclosed. “Even if minors record sexual content consensually, consent doesn’t count because they’re children — and this is where we see the greatest risk.” Her assessment aligns with the Disrupting Harm Malaysia 2022 report, which found that 4 per cent of internet-using children aged 12 to 17 — roughly 100,000 young Malaysians — experienced online sexual exploitation or abuse in the past year. The report found that half the children who faced clear sexual harm online did not tell anyone, and almost none approached authorities. Instead, they confided in friends or siblings, if they told anyone at all, according to cases investigated between 2017 and 2019. This subset represented the technology-related child abuse cases handled by the unit. Children cited shame, embarrassment, fear of getting into trouble, not knowing where to report, and the belief that nothing would be done as key reasons for staying silent. For some, fear was compounded by cultural stigma around discussing sexual matters, especially when abuse involved same-sex perpetrators, which could expose victims to further legal or social consequences. Despite the worrying trends, Saranovic said Malaysia is not behind its Asean neighbors. She pointed to recent amendments that legally recognized sextortion for the first time. The challenge now, she said, is ensuring technology companies shoulder more responsibility. Read more at: https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2025/11/25/non-consensual-sexual-content-now-top-online-threat-to-malaysian-children-says-unicef/199247
