PETALING JAYA: Tan Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, the Umno Women and Family Affairs Council (Hawa) chairman, has stated that community-based initiatives involving local authorities, state assemblies, and MP service centers can provide assistance to children in vulnerable situations, particularly those who are victims of abuse. Shahrizat believes that community leaders can also play a role in helping these children. However, she emphasizes the need for proper planning before implementing such initiatives.
Shahrizat suggests collaborating with existing local organizations that have already initiated community-based approaches, as opposed to reinventing the wheel. She believes that by working together and learning from these organizations, the approach can be strengthened. In order for social or community-based models to be effective, integration between relevant stakeholders, such as educational and religious centers, must be combined with child protection standards and procedures.
Shahrizat also emphasizes the importance of preventing potential perpetrators from gaining access to vulnerable children. She suggests implementing a screening system to identify trusted individuals who can serve as community contact persons. According to Shahrizat, children often only confide in trusted individuals about their abuse, but adults are usually unprepared to handle such situations.
In order to encourage people to report cases of child abuse and increase public awareness about the laws and procedures, Shahrizat recommends intensifying awareness campaigns and educating the public on how to file a report. She also refers to the Talian Kasih hotline, which was launched in 2007 during her tenure as Women Family Community Development Minister, as an early intervention for victims of abuse, domestic violence, and natural disasters.
Shahrizat offers several suggestions for improving the hotline’s effectiveness. These include connecting it to other essential services, ensuring that frontline responders are properly trained to handle these issues, and establishing clear standard operating procedures (SOPs) from the moment a call is received. She emphasizes the need for seamless collaboration between agencies and mechanisms to hold them accountable for the cases they handle.
Shahrizat also highlights the need for improvements to the entire child protection system, especially outside of Klang Valley. However, she recognizes that these efforts require sufficient budget, policy framework, and legislation for support. She references the Social Workers Bill, which is currently in Parliament and aims to recognize the social work profession through registration and certification.
She believes that passing the bill would be an important step towards strengthening the country’s child protection framework. Shahrizat also points out that the shortage of trained social workers and overburdened staff hinders effective case management and may expose children to further harm. She stresses the importance of viewing children as complete human beings with the right to safety, respect, and dignity. According to her, how society perceives children has a significant impact on their well-being.
Credit: The Star : News Feed
