Preventive measures that we can take to curb incest

(1) Basic sex education in school and at home

Due to the secretive nature of this crime, and the victims’ tender age, it has been suggested by researchers that schools conduct a basic education in the human reproductive system so that young children to report any act of sexual abuse to the authority or to any person the child can trust.

It is the duty of any woman to educate her children about the human body, human lust and sex, although this may sound very inappropriate when her children are of a tender age. But do we have any choice? Prevention is better than cure! Mothers should let their daughters and sons know which parts of their bodies should not be touched by anyone. If anyone does so they should immediately report the matter to them.

(2) Making failure to report an offence

There has also been a suggestion to make it compulsory for who ever witnesses an act of incest to report it to the authority. This provision has been incorporated under the Child Act 2001. A fine of Rm5000/= will be imposed upon the offender. (Berita Harian, 8 May 2002)

The Deputy Minister of Education Datuk Abdul Aziz Samsuddin has called on teachers and headmasters to take a serious note of this matter. He says the government may give incentives to people to take the initiative to report the matter to the police or relevant authorities after finding out about it from the affected children. (Berita Harian, 14-4-2002)

(3) Birth control

Birth control is one of the ways to curb the incident of incest. The size of any family must be monitored to make sure that it is proportional to the financial capability of the family. Too many children staying in a small and crowded environment can lead to undesirable relationships like incest.

(4) Encourage public debate of the matter

Prof Abd. Hadi Zakaria in his book titled Haruan Makan Anak has proposed that the best way to curb the incest in families is to encourage a public debate on the subject. As long as people do not think it is taboo to talk about it, they will be more willing to come forward and report the matter to the authorities.

(5) A child hotline

May be it is not a bad idea to set up a telephone hotline known as ‘Child line’ for children to report this abuse to the authorities, thus bypassing their parents.

(6) Build houses with minimum of three rooms

The Mufti of Wilayah Persekutuan, Datuk Hashim Yahya has urged the government to build houses with at least three rooms. Parents shall occupy a separate room from the children. Boys shall also sleep in a separate room from the girls. (Utusan Malaysia,14-4-02)