ELDERLY SEX CRIMES
for their elders when they become weak and helpless, and to bring cruel perpetrators to book.
The age used to define senior citizens or the elderly has differed among researchers and writers.
The United Nations World Assembly on Ageing, held in Vienna in 1982, used “60 years and over” as the cut-off age in deliberating ageing trends.
Malaysian policy makers have adopted this demarcation and it is used in planning for senior citizens. Therefore, this definition should be adopted to define the elderly in Malaysia.
Sexual crimes against the elderly is defined as any unwanted sexual conduct against a person over 60.
The crime may be caused by tricking, manipulating or coercing the elderly person into undesired sexual contact. This includes sexual contact with an elderly person who is unable to communicate consent or disapproval.
The National Centre on Elder Sexual Abuse in the United States categorises elderly sexual crime as follows: “Elderly sexual crime is the act of making of any type of sexual relationship with the elderly without their consent.
“If the elderly victim is living with the abuser, it would be hard to detect and help the victim.”
The statistics of elderly sexual crime in Malaysia is difficult to obtain.
The World Health Organisation’s report on National Report on Violence and Health Malaysia 2006 states that there is no record of the occurrence of elderly sexual crime in Malaysia.
There is also no information on factors relating to elderly sexual crime and the impact of the crime in Malaysia.
There is a need to enact a specific section or Act, such as the Sexual Offences Against Children 2017 to criminalise this inhuman and unnatural conduct against elderly women.
Then only will the seriousness of this crime be acknowledged by society.
In Canada, there are four types of law to protect the elderly from sexual crime. teachers were towards my lessthan-orthodox attitude.
Due to their encouragement, I did not make too many mistakes during my learning years.
My heartfelt thanks to my teachers who provided me with the stepping stones for my life.
They are family violence laws, criminal law, adult protection laws and adult guardianship laws.
Quebec has a special provision in its provincial human rights legislation that can be used as another way to deal with sexual crimes against elderly women.
Educating the public about sexual crimes against the elderly may raise awareness and make society understand its nature and consequences.
At least the public will know how to identify the matter and report it to the authorities.
We need to be aware of the many faces of elderly sexual crimes.
Educating the public is important, although it is not an absolute solution to curb the problem, but it’s a start.
We still need to enact a section or act, perhaps a Sexual Offences Against Elderly Women, to criminalise the offence.
MOHAMAD ISMAIL MOHAMAD YUNUS AND SHAMSHINA MOHAMAD HANIFA
International Islamic University Malaysia
To those whose lives I made a little more difficult, do accept my apology for my less than humble attitude.
Happy Teachers Day.
NG SHU TSUNG Kuala Lumpur