Annual

Report

2014

Protect and Save the Children Association of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur (7) Phone: +60 (0)3 7957 4344 / 7956 4355 Fax: +60 (0)3 7957 4322 E-mail: protect@psthechildren.org.my Website: www.psthechildren.org.my Post: No. 05, Jalan 7/14 Section 7, Petaling Jaya 46050 Selangor Malaysia

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Content Page No.

1 Message from the President 3

2 Vision, Mission, Goals and Background 4

3 Malaysia and Child Rights 5

4 Milestones for the year 2014 6

5 Outreach programs 7

6 Advocacy 17

7 Special programs and events 21

8 Capacity building for the team 24

9 P.S the Children team 2014 25

9 Partners in change (donors) 27

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The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because

of those who look on and do nothing.

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OUR VISION

P.S. The Children envisions a supportive society that protects the rights and

dignity of every child from sexual abuse and exploitation.

OUR MISSION

P.S. The Children„s mission is to create safe and responsive communities by advocating and establishing effective prevention education, strengthening

treatment and support services, while forging synergistic partnerships within communities.

OUR GOALS

Goal 1: Increase awareness among adults to enable them to respond appropriately

Goal 2: Enabling Meaningful Child Participation and Equip Every Child with Personal Safety and Life Skills Goal 3: To create an effective holistic support network mechanism for children

and adults Goal 4: To empower and heal individuals

ABOUT US

P.S. The Children was founded in April 1999 to give a voice to sexually abused children. What began as a project had evolved by 2002 into a full-fledged,

registered non-profit association. In 2014, P.S. The Children had grown to 5 full-time employees.

Working with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) as a basis, P.S. The Children„s central focus is the implementation of programs and

services that promote and protect the Right of children to be free from sexual abuse and exploitation (CRC Articles 19, 34, 35). P.S. The Children is the only social organization in Malaysia that focuses solely

on the prevention, intervention and treatment of Child Sexual Abuse and exploitation.

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1. Malaysia and Child Rights

1n 1995 Malaysia acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). We have

since seen significant progress in children‟s rights with initiatives for upholding and

realizing the rights of children being advanced by the both the government and civil

society, as well as concerned individuals and the corporate sector.

In 2010, the Malaysian government lifted reservations to these articles within the

Convention:

Article 1 ~ the age defining „a child‟

Article 13 ~ freedom of expression

Article 15 ~ freedom of assembly and participation

In 2011, the government signed two Optional Protocols within the CRC. These were:

1) The Optional Protocol with regards to the sale of children, child prostitution and

child pornography

2) The Optional Protocol with regards to the involvement of children in armed

conflict

The Malaysian government however chose to retain its reservation with regards to the 5

core articles under the convention.

A key outcome of Malaysia‟s ratification of the CRC is the Child Act 2001 (Act 611) which

forms part of the legally protective environment for children in this country. Several

initiatives have been introduced under this Act to safeguard children from violence,

abuse, neglect and exploitation. Incest for example has been criminalised by the Penal

Code (Act 574), while the Domestic Violence Act 1994 (Act 521) protects children from

violence within the family. Though Malaysia has appeared interested in promoting and

protecting the rights of the child, rather less has been done in terms of the

implementation of programmes and policies. As such P.S. The Children constantly strives

to advocate for change in policy.

Challenges also remain in the following areas:

Continued reservation to the 5 core articles of the CRC

Timely and periodic submissions of reporting by the Malaysian Government on

national level CRC implementation to the Committee on the Rights of the Child

(United Nations)

Ratification of Optional Protocol 3 to the CRC

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2. Milestones For The Year

2014 marked a milestone of great importance for P.S. The Children in terms of child

rights advocacy at the national as well as regional level. The following was achieved:

Regional advocacy on promoting Child Rights through the ASEAN Peoples Forum

(APF)

Recognition as the contributing partner under Malaysia‟s 1st Human Development

Report published by the UNDP

Presentation at the “International Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect”

organized by ISPCAN in Japan.

Collaborative partnership with international organizations including Plan

International and Save the Children International

Partnership with a UCSI, Malaysia for building knowledge transfer

Highlights for the Year

2014 was a fruitful and engaging year. P.S The Children reached out to various

stakeholders through tailor made programmes involving children, the corporate sector,

government agencies and civil society. These included:

Participation as the National Organizing Committee (NOC) member for the ASEAN

Peoples Forum (APF) 2015 in Malaysia

Leading the Child Rights Group for APF 2015

Integrating online child safety into the existing Personal Safety Education

Curriculum (Keeping Me Safe curriculum for secondary groups).

Partnering with UNICEF Malaysia on programme implementation

Partnering with various corporations including UOB, CIMB, ExxonMobil, OMNI AAA,

Canadian Association for Malaysia, DiGi Berhad and The Edge Education Fund.

Participation in the National Task Force for desk research on violence against

children anchored by Ministry of Health and UNICEF, Malaysia.

Organising personal safety programmes for children from refugee communities in

an effort to reach the most vulnerable groups

Submission of a paper on the status of the implementation of the rights of girl

children in Malaysia. In line with the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA) document.

Submission of a paper to the UN General Assembly for the inclusion of child

marriage under the post 2015 development agenda

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3. Outreach Programme

3.1 Children

Children have always been prioritized as mainstream stakeholders in our campaign

against child sexual abuse. As such, personal safety education is an integral part of the

holistic approach. In 2014 we reached out to 992 children through the Keeping Me Safe

(KMS) personal safety education curriculum. These children, aged between 4 and 17

years, came from the following groups:

Schools

NGOs

The Community

Impact

The assessed effectiveness of these personal safety programmes resulted in

several institutions requesting more ongoing programmes. These include STROM,

Siddharthan Care centre, SMK (P) Methodist Kuala Lumpur and SMK Sentul

Utama schools.

Positive feedback was received from caregivers through observations of positive

behavioural changes in the children post-programme participation

Recognizing the importance of personal safety education for children, SMK Sentul

Utama mobilized funds of its own to organize a personal safety programme.

5 disclosures of sexual abuse cases from children through participation in these

programmes.

722

girl children reached through

special events

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institutions partnered

200

hours of personal

safety education (approx.)

992

children empowered

through personal

safety education

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We are grateful for the financial and logistical support extended by our donors

in sustaining and expanding our reach to children.

`

Voices Of The Children

“I love the programme and I have learned a lot about my personal

safety” – Aqmar,secondary school student, PPR Kerinchi

“I had a lot of fun learning about personal safety, I hope I can

attend the same programme next year” – Ain, Primary student,

Mentari Project, Mentari

“This programme has taught me a lot about myself and life. I’m so

happy I attended this programme” – George, Secondary student,

S.M.K St Michael, Penampang.

Feedback From The Adults

“The programme helped educate the children in knowing more

about online safety” – Mr. Husin Yosuf, PPR Kg. Baru Air

Panas, KL on our Cyber Safe Programme for teenagers.

“The programme showed great results in the children’s

behaviour. The children were cooperative and worked well

together, putting aside racial and other differences to discuss

their personal safety” – Mr. Naib, PPR Sg. Bonus, KL.

”The programme is very important for the children and more

programmes are needed in this school” – School Counsellor,

S.M.K Sentul Utama

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The table below lists the groups that we have reached out to over the year:

S.

No

Community Month No. of children

reached out to

1 Methodist Girls School, KL Feb 236

2 Agape Vision Mar 22

3 Fugee School – Pre-school May 12

4 Fugee School – Primary May 14

4 STROM May 25

5 Agathian Shelter Home May 15

6 Mentari Centre May 26

7 SK Kampung Bharu May 167

8 SMK Gunung Semanggol June 148

9 PPR Desa Rejang Sep 25

10 PPR Hiliran Ampang Sep 21

11 SMK Sentul Utama Sep 150

12 Rumah Victory Oct 8

13 An Najjah Malaysia

Children‟s Homes

Nov 22

14 Siddharthan Care centre Nov 16

15 PPR Air Panas Dec 20

16 PPR Kerinchi Dec 15

17 PPR Sungai Bonus Dec 25

18 PPR Desa Tun Razak Dec 25

We reached out to a further 722 girl children in our campaign to educate and empower

girl children on their rights and personal safety. This was achieved through the

celebration of International Day of the Girl Child which is held on 11th of October

every year. The beneficiaries are listed below:

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S.

No

Community Date of

event

No. of girl children reach out

to

1 SMK Infant Jesus Convent

(Melaka)

28th Oct 400

2 PPR Kota Damansara, KL 11th Oct 22

3 SMK Convent Bukit Nanas (KL) 4th Nov 300

Girl Child Day 2014

Children engaged in a group activity during a personal safety programme in a school

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Facilitators and ExxonMobil volunteers during an activity with the children

3.2 Adult Stakeholders

In order to achieve our vision of creating a community that upholds the rights and

dignity of every child and to protect them from abuse and exploitation, we needed a

comprehensive and inclusive approach with adults as crucial stakeholders. As such, we

reached out to adults from relevant communities such as:

parents

corporate members

teachers

government employees

faith based institutions

We tailored the programmes to fit the above groups bearing in mind their level of

contact with children, and their roles and capabilities. Our programmes included

awareness talks and capacity building workshops (from basic to trainer levels) on the

prevention of child sexual abuse (CSA).

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We would like to thank our supporters for their continued aid and cooperation

in implementing our reach out programmes.

Over the course of 2014, we reached out to 846 adults. This included teachers, members

of the corporate sector, the media, staff from government agencies, university students

and the concerned public. They attended our Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) prevention talks

and workshop programmes. Attendees are listed below:

846 • The general public and professionals working with children - reached out through talks and workshops.

140 • Corporate members sensitized on the prevention of child sexual abuse

185 • College students educated on CSA prevention through exhibitions and talks.

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No Client Date No. of adults

reached out

Target audience

1 SMK (P) Methodist,

KL

15th March 25 Teachers and

parents

2 Teach For Malaysia 14th June 06 Teachers

3 Department of

Anthropology,

University Malaya

30th June 20 Students

4 Omni AAA 19th July 50 Corporate

5 Emergenetics

International,

Malaysia

14th June 06 Corporate

6 Teach for Malaysia 14th June 20 Teachers

7 Omni AAA 16th August 60 Corporate

8 Girls Guides Malaysia

& Institute of

Teacher Education

13th Nov 40 Teachers

9 Association of

Registered Childcare

Providers Malaysia

(PPBM)

- End Violence

campaign

23rd Nov 20 Public

10 UCSI Launch 6th Dec 50 Students/Lecturers

11 International Islamic

University Malaysia

(IIUM), Gombak

8th Dec 75 Students/Lecturers

12 Teach For Malaysia August 400 Teachers

13 Public workshop February 07 Public

14 Media workshop 26th Jan 06 Media

15 ExxonMobil Malaysia 25th April 26 Corporate

16 Department of Social

Welfare

(Counselors and

officers)

29th & 30th April 30 Social welfare

officers

17 Training of

Facilitators (TOF)

Workshop

August 05 Public

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End Violence Against Children (VAC) Campaign

Prevention of CSA Talk for the public at The School, Jaya One PJ

Datin Wong, President of The Association of Registered Child Care Providers Malaysia

(PPBM), organizer of the End Violence against Children Campaign, at the awareness

booth

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Talks & Workshop For Corporates

Prevention of CSA Talk for OMNI AAA

Workshop on Prevention of CSA for Volunteers of Exxon Mobil

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Awareness Raising Forum For NGOs

Participants at the Child Rights in ASEAN Forum organized by P.S The Children and

Ateneo Human Rights centre, Philippines in August 2014

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4. Advocacy

4.1 Child Rights Advocacy

P.S The Children strongly believe that prevention of child sexual abuse cannot be

achieved with a single window approach. Prevention needs to be multi dimensional,

covering the following aspects.

Policy

The preventive programmes aimed at various stakeholders alone may not be an effective

strategy towards addressing child sexual abuse. The preventive programmes should be

complimented with strong policies at all levels including national, institutional and

community such as:

National level Child protection Policy and its action plan

Mandatory child protection policy for institutions that provide services for children

including schools, residential centers (shelter homes, child care centers) as well

as non-residential care centers and services for special needs children.

National level policy and programmes to promote positive parenting.

Legislations

Preventive programmes and policies will only be effective if the legislations of

the country are strong and recognize children as Rights holders. The legislations

should:

recognize the evolving capacities of the children (especially children with

disability)

be in the best interests of children as envisioned under the UN Convention on

the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) & Convention on the Rights of Persons with

Disability (CRPD)

recognize the growing challenges of child protection issues at all levels

Child Rights and Protection

Programs

Policy

Legislation

Enforcement

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strengthen the penalty level of the perpetrators and violators

set precedence in promoting child rights & child protection at highest level

Enforcement

One of the very important components in realizing protecting children from abuse and

harm is the effective enforcement of all the above (programmes, policies and

legislations).

Without an effective enforcement mechanism it is practically impossible to

create a community which promotes and protects children from abuse and

harm. Effective implementation of the programmes, policies and legislations recognizing

the challenges faced by children should be given core importance so as to reinforce to

the common public that issues of children are taken with zero tolerance and

with utmost sensitivity.

In 2014, P.S The Children made advocacy efforts at the national as well as regional level

in terms of promoting child rights and strengthening the child protection mechanism.

P.S The Children is actively involved in the following advocacy platforms:

National Advocacy

Platform Role of P.S The Children

Child Rights Coalition Malaysia (CRCM)

Joint Secretariat and Steering

committee member

National Task Force For Online Child

Protection (anchored by KPWKM)

Task force member

National Task Force Member On Desk

Research On Violence Against Children

(anchored by MOH & UNICEF)

Task force member

Universal Periodic Review (UPR)

process

Promoting child rights & advocating for

enhancing the child protection system.

Advocating through networking at

international level and through briefing

diplomatic missions for the protection of

Human Rights.

P.S The Children has attended the following National level meetings and awareness

platforms:

Child Act 2001 amendment meeting by NGOs

Discussion with SUHAKAM on reservation on Convention on the Rights of the

Child and Convention on the Rights of Persons with disabilities ratified by

Malaysia.

P.S The Children has hosted the following events:

Hosted round table discussions of NGOs on Optional Protocol 3, CRC

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Hosted a national consultation on Child Rights & ASEAN with support from Plan

International.

Regional Advocacy

Platform Role of P.S The Children

Child Rights Coalition Asia (CRC Asia) Steering committee and Board member

of CRC Asia represented by Ms. Malathy,

Executive Director of P.S the Children

ASEAN People‟s Forum (APF 2015) National Organizing Committee (NOC)

member for APF 2015 and Child Rights

lead member within NOC.

Global Advocacy

Platform Role of P.S The Children

Girls Not brides

Global member partner advocating on

issues pertaining to child marriage

International Society for Prevention of Child

Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN)

Member

P.S The Children has contributed in the following global level advocacy forums:

Submitted inputs to the UN General Assembly on Child Marriage for inclusion in

the post 2015 development agenda.

Submitted inputs to UNDP, Malaysia on Human Development and Child Protection

for the Malaysia 1st Human Development Index report.

4.2 Media Advocacy

During the year, P.S The Children have provided inputs and brought out many issues

relating to the protection of children through media. To mention a few:

Date Media Topic covered

29th Jan 2014 The Ant Daily Child abuse

22nd Feb 2014 The Malay Mail Online Corporal punishments

21st Mac 2014 The Star Keeping children safe

28th May 2014 The Malay Mail Child abuse case in school

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29th Jan 2014 - The Ant Daily captured inputs from PSC on child abuse

22nd Feb 2014: The Malay Mail Online captured inputs on corporal punishments by PSC.

21st March 2014: The Star included the inputs from PSC in their articles on keeping

children safe.

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28th May 2014: The Malay Mail published the inputs from PSC on child abuse by a

teacher in a school.

21st February 2014: The Star published the inputs by PSC on reporting missing

children.

5. Special Events And Programs

During the year, P.S The Children organized the following special events as part of our

efforts towards awareness generation and advocacy:

5.1 Optional Protocol 3 (OP3), CRC – Round table discussion

5.2 National NGO consultation on Child Rights & ASEAN

5.3 International Day for Prevention of Child Abuse (19th Nov)

5.1 OP3, CRC Roundtable discussion

P.S The Children organized an awareness forum on Optional Protocol 3 for the

Convention on the Rights of the Child (OP3 CRC) held at HELP Residence on 9th

October 2014. The event gathered 19 representatives from different organizations both

governmental and non-governmental organizations.

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Participants interacting during the session on OP3, CRC

5.2 National Civil Society Consultation on Child Rights & ASEAN

On 13th Dec 2014, P.S the children hosted a national civil society consultation on Child

Rights and ASEAN. The event was attended by more than 50 members from various civil

society organizations working with children from across Malaysia. The event was

supported by Plan International, Regional Office based in Thailand.

The outcomes of the consultation are:

Increased participants understanding ASEAN processes, its structure and

mechanisms through sharing and discussions.

Participants sensitized on capitalizing ASEAN processes as platforms for child

rights advocacy.

Different child protection issues and possible suggestions were identified through

group discussions which will be shared and discussed at the APF Regional

Consultation.

Snapshots during the National consultation on Child Rights & ASEAN

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5.3 International Day for Prevention of Child Abuse (19th Nov)

19th November marks the International Day for Prevention of Child Abuse. To mark

the importance of the day, civil society organizations across the world join together to

raise awareness and voice out against child abuse.

As part of national level efforts, P.S The Children reached out through facebook and the

screening of a short awareness video throughout the month of November at KL Sentral

to raise the level of awareness amongst the public on the prevention of child abuse.

Our special thanks to 3thirds Inc Sdn Bhd. for their support & commitment towards

promoting Child Rights and creating awareness on child sexual abuse prevention as part

of our campaign in November 2014!!

Awareness video snapshot at KL Sentral supported by 3thirds Inc Sdn Bhd.

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6. Capacity Building for the Team

P.S The Children believes that the human resource needs to be provided with continuous

support for their professional growth so as to effectively contribute to the development

of the organization and contribute back to society.

With this view, in 2014, the team was offered with the following trainings and exposure

as part of their continuous professional development.

Course / Training Attended by

Drama therapy course

by Enriching counseling and therapy centre

Farah Iylia

Sheau Yng

NGO Accelerator Program

by Hong Leong Foundation

Saratha

Farah Iylia

Vijaya Baskar

Child Online safety workshop

by Malaysia Communication & Multimedia Commission (MCMC)

Sheau Yng

Vijaya Baskar

World Summit on Media for children

By UNICEF Malaysia

Sheau Yng

Competency based Child protection workshop

by Malaysian Association of Social Worker (MASW)

Farah Iylia

Sheau Yng

Training of Facilitator workshop on Prevention of Child

Sexual Abuse and Personal Safety Education

by P.S the Children Trainers (Internal training)

Farah Iylia

Sheau Yng

Saratha

Capacity building on Regional Advocacy on Child Rights

by CRC Asia in Manila

Malathy

Vijaya Baskar

Thency

International conference on child abuse and neglect

by ISPCAN in Japan

Malathy

Thency

Awareness –raising forum on Child Rights and ASEAN

by ATENEO Human Rights Centre, Philippine

Sheau Yng

Farah Iylia

Saratha

Engagement with media workshop

by UNICEF Malaysia

Saratha

Felicia Lam

Thency

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7. P.S the Children team - 2014

Ms. Nagasayee Malathy – Executive Director

Mr. Vijaya Baskar – Program Coordinator

Ms. Thency Gunasegaram – Program officer

Ms. Amrita Gunasekaran – Training & Education Executive

Ms. Farah Iylia Binti Fauzi – Training & Education Executive

Ms. Yuvanah Radakrishnan - Training & Education Executive

Ms. Chin Sheau Yng – Training & Education facilitator

Ms. Vanitha Chandrasegaram – Psycho Social Counsellor

Ms. Felicia Lam Pui Mun – Psycho Social Counsellor

Ms. Saratha Alagappan – Operations Manager

Ms. Jeikala Akambaram – Finance Executive

Patron

YAM Tunku Kamariah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah bte Almarhum Sultan Iskandar,

Tunku Putri Johor

Board Members

President

Y.Bhg.Datin Che Nariza Hajjar Hashim

Vice President

Y.Bhg.Datin Paduka Zaitoon Binti Othman

Board Secretary

Lim Ay Ju (Patricia)

Board Treasurer

Sabri Ab Rahman

Ordinary Committee Member

Madeleine Yong

Members

Vicky Alahakone

Lean Nyeok Foo

Melur Natasya Saufi

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7.1 Internship students

We thank all our interns and volunteers who have extended their valuable time, skills

and effort towards the successful and effective implementation of the programmes. Our

interns for 2014:

No. Name Institution

1. Khoo Wan Yi SEGi University

2. Lim Kah Yen SEGi University

3. Jacky Liau ( Liau Thsun Cheng) SEGi University

4. Ginny SEGi University

5. June Wong SEGi University

6. Liew Fui Ron SEGi University

7 Helene Bourry International student - France

8 Ilyani Binti Mohd Rosmadi University Pendidikan Sultan Idris,

Perak (UPSI)

9. Hayatun Syamila Bt Abdul Rahim University Pendidikan Sultan Idris,

Perak (UPSI)

10. Muhammad Norfaiz Bin Razali University Pendidikan Sultan Idris,

Perak (UPSI)

11. Salinee Su Lynn SEGi College Kuala Lumpur,

Malaysia

12. Jia Jue University Tunku Abdul Rahman

13. Salina A/P Alias SEGi College Kuala Lumpur

14. Kunaahsunthary Letchumanan SEGi University Kota Damansara,

Malaysia

15. Salinee Su Lynn SEGi University Kota Damansara,

Malaysia

7.2 List of Volunteers

S. No Name Profession

1 Nazreen Freelancer

2 Banu Student

3 Michelle Kindergarten Teacher

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8. Partners in change

Corporate, International organization and Foundation donors for 2014

S. No NAME OF DONOR AGENCY

1 CIMB FOUNDATION

2 EXXON MOBIL EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION MALAYSIA INC.

3 CHILD RIGHTS COALITION (CRC ASIA)

4 CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF MALAYSIA

5 GARDEN OF HOPE FOUNDATION, TAIWAN

6 DIGI TELECOMUNICATIONS SDN BHD

7 UNICEF MALAYSIA

8 SAVE THE CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL

9 THE EDGE EDUCATION FOUNDATION

10 PLAN INTERNATIONAL, REGIONAL OFFICE, THAILAND

Government grant

JABATAN KEBAJIKAN MASYARAKAT (JKM)

Individual donors in 2014

S. No NAME OF THE DONOR

1 PANGNAMAMULA NAGSAYAEE MALATHY

2 CHUA SU MAE

3 FADZILAH HANIM BINTI SAMSUDIN

4 TAN KIAN YAK

5 LUM WENG FOO

6 CHENG WAN YOKE CATHERIN

7 DR.SANDRA CHIN BEEK YUEN

8 SITPAH SELVARATNAM

9 SUGEETHA

10 MUHHAMD LUTFI BIN MADZLAN

11 TAN WEI YING

12 STUART LOW JUNE MENG

13 MANSHEEL KAUR A/P HARBAHAJAN

14 AMALINA AZILIN

We take this opportunity to thank all our donors and supporters for being

partners in change in prevention and addressing child sexual abuse.

Without YOU it wouldn’t have been possible.