Protecting victims of intra-familial child sexual abuse

When the Ministry of Social and Family Development is alerted to a case of intra-familial child sexual abuse, its Child Protective Service (CPS) ensures the child is kept safe.

This entails having an adult who can ensure the child is not left alone with the perpetrator, said manager of the CPS investigation team Nurul Nadiah Mohamed Noor, 29.

The safe adult - usually the child's relative - is proposed by the family and assessed by the CPS on his or her ability to keep the child safe.

A safety plan will then be drawn up to determine the child's living arrangements and the rules family members have to adhere to.

If the child cannot remain at home, she will stay with a relative or family friend while investigations are ongoing.

If no one is able to care for the child, she will be placed with a foster family or children's home, but only as a last resort, said Ms Nadiah.

The child's views are considered in the formulation of the safety plan.

Ms Nadiah said: "A child could request that her grandmother move in with her because they are close. She would also be asked to rate how safe she feels at home with her parents on a scale of zero to 10."

But family members do not always agree on the child's care arrangements.

In such cases, CPS officers encourage them to prioritise the child's needs, but the matter will be taken to court if a compromise cannot be reached.

For cases brought to trial, the ministry works closely with the police to allow the child to give her testimony separately, such as via video link, so she does not have to be in the courtroom with the perpetrator.

While the safety plan is in place, the perpetrator will be referred to a psychologist for help, and educated on keeping proper boundaries with the child.

Only after CPS officers have assessed that the child is no longer at risk of abuse is the safety plan withdrawn.

With six years' experience, Ms Nadiah said the toughest cases involve adults who blame the children for the abuse.

She said: "In a case where a father sexually abused his daughter, for instance, we try to get her mother to be the safe adult but instead she blames the child... These situations are upsetting because the child has already suffered the traumatic incident and on top of that, she is being blamed by someone she looks to for support.

"After all these years, it still baffles me how such situations can happen. These children are vulnerable and depend on their parents completely. To have that trust breached can be very traumatising."