Breaking the silence of child sexual abuse in six languages
KUCHING: A new storybook designed to prevent child sexual abuse by the Women’s Centre for Change (WCC) is now available in Iban, with Tamil and Kadazan versions out soon.
“Sara Madah Enggai” (Sara Says No) narrates the story of how Sara, a child with cerebral palsy, faces sexual abuse at the hands of an adult.
WCC advocacy officer Hastiny Subramaniam said the book aimed to create awareness that sexual abuse can happen to children with disabilities.
“They are particularly vulnerable and at higher risk due to their cognitive or communication challenges in expressing what has happened to them.
“As a result, such incidents often go undisclosed or unnoticed due to their inability to disclose the abuse,” she said.
Funded by a special grant from Yayasan Hasanah, “Sara Says No” was written by former WCC programme consultant Prema Devaraj.
Hastiny said the digital book had been translated from English into Malay, Chinese, Tamil, Kadazan and Iban. The English, Malay and Chinese versions were released earlier.
“By producing this book in multiple languages, including Iban, we can raise awareness and visibility among ethnically diverse communities on how children living with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse and how to seek help,” she said.
“Sara Says No” targets children, parents, educators, caregivers and people who work with children.
“They can read this storybook to children of appropriate age to understand how sexual abuse happens and how the child can seek help.
“Children need to be taught about good and bad touches and what to do when something goes wrong,” Hastiny said.
The book is available on WCC’S website at wccpenang.org and social media pages.
“To reach Iban speakers, we have joined several Facebook groups based in Sarawak.
“Our goal is to reach as many people as possible to let them know that this is a free resource that can inform them about the important issue of child sexual abuse,” Hastiny said.
She added that WCC expects to produce another storybook next year involving a disabled boy experiencing sexual abuse.
It will also be available in six languages.