PUTRAJAYA, Sept 4 — Women, Family, and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun said her ministry views the rising the number of Internet Protocol addresses registered in the country suspected of sharing child pornography seriously.

She said the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) found that 106,764 Internet Protocol (IP) addresses were recorded since 2017 till August this year, which was a worrying figure and that her ministry was running a campaign to provide awareness among children.

"My ministry views this trend as an unhealthy development, especially as it involves a vulnerable group since exposure to child pornography leads to sex addiction, which can eventually lead to other sexual issues,” she said at a press conference after launching a campaign against online sexual crimes against children here today.

She added that her ministry is using the campaign as an initiative to help and guide children, parents, and the community to deal with the current challenges posed by cybercrime.

The campaign has five main objectives, to increase children’s understanding of using social media wisely and safely, to highlight the dangers of unmonitored social media and to raise awareness among parents and the public regarding the use of social media among children.

Sharing the statistics of sexual offences involving children, Rina said since January to June, the police received 47 cases of gang rape, unnatural sex (95 cases), incest (127 cases), obscenity (438 cases) and 641 cases of rape.

Rina said her ministry has implemented various efforts, including establishing the Integrated Action Committee on the Management of Children’s Issues Online on June 15, 2021, empowering counselling services in 108 District Social Welfare Offices, and empowering communities by appointing 299 Protective Assistants in the Social Welfare Department.

She added that her ministry is organising the first ever two-day Children’s Conference starting tomorrow, which will be attended by the Children’s Representative Councils of Malaysia (MPKK) nationwide to represent the voices of children in the country. — Bernama