Counselling for Children or Young Persons in Statutory Rape and Sexual Misconduct Cases Carried out by Persons Known to Victims

Miss Cheng Li Hui asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether current services and programmes are sufficient to deal with cases of statutory rape and sexual misconduct involving children or young persons that are carried out by persons known to the victims; and (b) whether mandatory counselling services will be extended to families where children or young persons are victims of sexual misconduct involving family members, kin and persons known to the victims.

Keeping children safe from sexual abuse requires a whole-of-society effort. There are established interagency protocols, services and programmes to support victims and their families, and to bring perpetrators to justice.

When children experience or are suspected of having experienced sexual abuse, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and the Singapore Police Force (SPF) will step in. Children who are not safe at home may be placed temporarily with relatives, a foster family or a children's home. These children and their families are also supported with a range of community services and may be referred to MSF psychologists to help them recover from the trauma of abuse. Each child is affected differently by the abuse, and the intervention will be tailored according to the different risks and needs of the child and the family. MSF is constantly looking at ways to improve the assessment and evidence-based intervention for our clients, in line with international practices.

Concurrently, suspected perpetrators will be investigated by SPF. The child plays an important role in the investigation. To reduce the trauma faced by child victims from having to travel to different locations and recounting the incident to different professionals, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and MSF will be piloting a one-stop, multidisciplinary approach at KK Women’s and Children's Hospital.

Perpetrators of child abuse may be charged under the Penal Code, or the Children and Young Persons Act. At the same time, their longer-term rehabilitation is needed to prevent the abuse from recurring. The Court can order the perpetrator, who may be a parent or guardian, to undergo counselling, assessments, treatments or other programmes.

Upstream prevention of child abuse and self-protection are equally important. Children are taught about personal safety in schools. They are taught to recognise sexual abuse and harassment, acquire skills to protect themselves both in real life and online, and understand the laws that protect them in Singapore. They also learn to seek help from trusted adults, such as their parents, teachers and school counsellors, when there is risk of their personal safety being compromised.

Beyond the existing multi-agency network of help, members of the public can also play their part. Noticing child abuse and bringing it to attention is the first step that enables the range of support services to kick in. Anyone who is aware of a child being or at risk of being abused, can help by alerting a community-based Child Protection Specialist Centre, MSF's Child Protective Service, the ComCare Hotline 1800- 222-0000 or their nearest Family Service Centre. Where a life is in danger, the public should immediately call the Police.