New Strait Times - Wednesday, 25 July 2007

MORE DEAF KIDS SEXUALLY ABUSED

More deaf kids sexually abused Adam Darwisy Tan (right) sharing a light moment with another participant at a workshop organised for deaf children to teach them about sexual abuse. SHAH ALAM: Cases of sexual abuse among deaf children are on the rise. Deaf Against Child Sexual Abuse (DACSA) co-ordinator Jessica Mak said many were not reported as deaf children did not know how to express themselves well on such matters. "Molest cases often happen in boarding schools and hostels. In places like Sabah, special schools for the deaf are located in distant places. As such, parents have to leave their kids at hostels and these things sometimes happen there." Mak said there had also been a few cases of teachers sexually abusing deaf children. She added that statistics on sexual abuse among deaf children were not readily available. She was speaking to the New Straits Times after a Personal Safety and Child Sexual Abuse workshop organised for deaf children by Sekolah Kebangsaan Khas Selangor. Some 20 children aged between 7 and 17 attended the workshop. For Adam Darwisy Tan, 8, it was an interesting day as he joined his sister, Sahira Qistina, who is deaf, to learn about sexual abuse. Adam, who can hear, goes to a school for the deaf as he is close to his sister. The workshop saw volunteers, who are also deaf, indicate how children should say "no" when "touched" wrongly by adults. Another area covered was on the importance of relating bad experiences to those they trust.