and 50 per cent that they would tell a teacher.183 Measures taken by adolescents to protect themselves include reviewing privacy settings, scanning downloaded files, not revealing personal information, not adding strangers as friends and logging off whenever using a public computer.184 Whilst passwords are an important means of online protection, the 2013 CyberSAFE study found that only 50 per cent of participants did not share their passwords with anyone else, one third used the same password for multiple accounts, and one third used the same password they had always used: changing passwords for security reasons was not common.185 In terms of parents’ actions to ensure child online safety, an Internet Users Survey from 2017 revealed that 87.1 per cent of parents monitored their child’s use of the Internet, such as staying near their child during online activities and checking the child’s browsing history and social network account. Just over 70 per cent taught their child about using the Internet safely. Only 17.2 per cent of parents installed parental control software in devices used by their child. For those who did not, 69.2 per cent said that they had their own rules and limits, 59.1 per cent had not heard of the software, 47.4 per cent claimed that they trusted their child enough that they found using the software unnecessary, 15.3 per cent reported they did not want to pay for the service and 9.5 per cent were not convinced of the effectiveness of the software.186 There is no specific legislation covering online protection for children and adolescents, although there are various existing laws that are relevant. These include the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, the Child Act 2001, the Criminal Procedure Code 1976, the Domestic Violence Act 1994, the AntiTrafficking in Persons Act 2007 and the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 (pursuant to which sexual and pornographic material is prohibited). Additionally, a Plan of Action on Child Online Protection has been developed by the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development. This focuses on advocacy, prevention, intervention and support services.
Other efforts that seek to improve safety levels in Internet usage and child online protection include the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation’s Digi CyberSAFE programme, launched in 2009 that is a digital education programme in schools that promotes safe usage of the Internet,187 the Klik Dengan Bijak (KDM) or Click Wisely programme, which aims to raise public awareness about how to use the Internet safely and responsibly, and R.AGE Against Bullying, which uses The Star newspaper to disseminate information on issues that are important for youth, including information on antibullying.188 Despite these initiatives, however, there remains a need to address cyberbullying and online child exploitation in particular.
5.4 Adolescents in conflict with the law A substantial number of adolescents come into contact with the criminal justice system, as suspects or as victims or witnesses. The vast majority of adolescents who come into conflict with the law are older, as set out in the table below (though note that the data only include those aged up to 18 years). More boys than girls are arrested for criminal offences, consistent with global trends. This is likely a result of a complex interplay of social expectations, gender roles and responses to behaviour by boys and girls that mean boys are both more likely and more likely to be seen as being in conflict with the law. The most common offences for which adolescents (10-18 years) are arrested are drug offences (consumption, possession and trafficking) and property offences (theft, burglary and robbery): drug-related offences represented 37 per cent of adolescent (0-18 years) arrests in 2017, property-related offences represented 30 per cent of adolescent arrests. According to international standards, children in conflict with the law shall receive special treatment at all stages of the judicial or administrative process (from investigation through to detention or alternative
183 UNICEF, Perils and possibilities: Growing up online (2016). 184 UNICEF Malaysia, Exploring the Digital Landscape in Malaysia: Access and use of digital technologies by children and adolescents, November 2014, p. 44. 185 Ibid., p. 48. 186 Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission, Internet Users Survey, 2017, p. 26-27, available at: https://www.mcmc.gov. my/skmmgovmy/media/General/pdf/MCMC-Internet-Users-Survey-2017.pdf 187 Nadchatram, Indra, Teens, Youth & Digital: UNICEF Malaysia Communications & Public Advocacy, MCO Communications, November 2015. 188 UNICEF Malaysia, Exploring the Digital Landscape in Malaysia: Access and use of digital technologies by children and adolescents, November 2014, p. 52-53.
41
