KUALA LUMPUR: Teachers have a vital role to play in identifying, reporting, and preventing child abuse and cases of neglect.
Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Hannah Yeoh said they should be more sensitive and aware of any peculiar behaviour shown by students in class, for possible signs of child abuse.
She said based on statistics of child abuse in the country, the great majority of perpetrators were parents.
"Most child abuse cases involved the parents. Hence, we notice that victims would likely spend more time at school than home.
"You can see their behaviour changes from time to time. This is where teachers play an important role to stay alert and be more aware of the situation.
"If the teacher finds out that the student is a victim, he or she needs to lodge a complaint or report to the ministry, as well as the Welfare Department. With their help, we can actually tackle this serious issue," she said at the "Majlis Gerakan Massa: Terima Kasih Cikgu" launch ceremony, here.
Of 26,314 cases of child abuse reported from 2013 to November last year, 4,583 were due to family disputes.
Yeoh, who recently launched the Women's Aid Organisation (WAO) report titled "Where's the Child?: The Rights of Child Domestic Violence Survivors", many children ended up as victims of domestic violence, due to the inability of parents to cope with stress, among others.
“Some of the victims had lodged a report to the Talian Nur-Kasih. The ministry as well as the Welfare Department and non-governmental organisations will help them. We need to put a stop to this act of violence against children.
"However, this is not only the responsibility of the ministry, Welfare Department and teachers. Parents must play a role too. They should be more responsible for the welfare of their children," she added.