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Unveiling the Shadows: Exploring Online Sexual Grooming in Malaysia

Open access

Ainul Mardhiyyah Tajudin, Ilman Jayasilan, Farhah Abdullah , Cartaz Ummu Syawaeda Jaiman, Nurulhasni Shaari@ Mat Saman, Norsyazrah Zulkifli

Pages 1429-1437 Received: 28 Sep, 2023 Revised: 25 Oct, 2023 Published Online: 22 Nov, 2023

http://dx.doi.org/10.46886/IJARBSS/v13-i11/7560
Nowadays, the Internet benefits people in our world, as everyone has access to it. However, the internet still posses a number of risks, particularly to children.Among the dangers of the internet towards children is online sexual grooming. Due to that reason, it is important to safeguard the children from sexual online predators through the laws and enforcement. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to assess the adequacy of current laws and enforcement in dealing with online sexual grooming on children in Malaysia, particularly on enforcement and implementation by authorities. This is a qualitative research project that draws on primary sources such as federal legislations like the Child Act of 2001, Sexual Offences against Children Act 2017, and the Penal Code. Simultaneously, secondary sources such as published articles, official news, government statistics, international publications, and other reputable results were analysed in order to arrive at a precise and dependable conclusion. According to the findings, laws in Malaysia are designed to ensure the safety of children, as the government demonstrates a strong commitment in addressing this matter, while enforcement still has to be improved to a certain extent. This study finds that the existing legislations in Malaysia are adequate in dealing with online sexual grooming of children but the enforcement of the law requires more attention besides of the parental control on children's internet activity. Therefore, further studies should be done to examine the role played by the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), particularly the Malaysia Internet Crime against Children Investigation Unit (MICAC), the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and other agencies from various sectors to curb and tackle this issue in relation to the prevention, investigation, and prosecution of online sexual offences.

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