Girl unaware rape by grandpa was wrong

KOTA KINABALU • An 11-year-old was raped by her grandfather for over a year, but kept quiet about it because she did not realise what he did was wrong.

However, in February, the Primary 5 pupil realised that she had been sexually abused following a sex education class at her school.

The girl confided to a teacher following the lesson, and the teacher alerted the girl's mother who later lodged a police report.

It resulted in the arrest of her 50-year-old farmer grandfather, who was sentenced to 27 years in prison by the Kota Kinabalu sessions court last Thursday.

Sabah Women's Action Resources Group president Winnie Yee has now renewed calls for sex education to be implemented in all schools in the East Malaysian state.

She said the incident was sad but proved that sex education matters, and could even prompt victims to seek help.

"We are now working towards having the state Education Department expand sex education to all schools in Sabah.

"Every school needs to have someone who can handle and talk about these issues," Ms Yee said.

She said that according to reports by various non-governmental organisations, including Unicef, there is an increasing trend of adolescent sex in Malaysia.

According to the report, without correct information and skills to cope with the growth to adulthood, some young people experiment with drugs and engage in unprotected sex, thus increasing their risk of unwanted pregnancies as well as contracting HIV, hepatitis and other sexually transmitted diseases.

It also stated that lack of life skills contribute to other social problems among some adolescents, such as juvenile delinquency and bullying in schools.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on March 24, 2019, with the headline Girl unaware rape by grandpa was wrong. Subscribe