SINGAPORE: The number of teenage girls engaging in
underage sex rose last year, even as the authorities scored a
success in reducing the number of younger girls from doing
so.
The latest police figures showed there were 198
cases of sexual penetration involving a girl aged below 16, last
year. This was 10 more than in 2009.
However, the number of cases last year was an
improvement from the figures in 2008, which saw 249 cases.
The police said that most of the time, these girls were having
underage sex with men known to them, usually their boyfriends or
friends.
In one such case at the Subordinate Courts last month, Muhammad
Shafiq Abdul Ghani, then 20, pleaded guilty to having consensual
sex with a 14-year-old girl between late February and early March,
last year. The District Court heard the girl had initiated sex as
she wanted to "have his child" which Muhammad Shafiq agreed.
Now 21, he was spared jail and fined S$4,000. District Judge Eddy
Tham felt the girl's "active initiation" where the offender was
below 21 was a sentencing consideration. Prosecutors have
appealed.
However, statutory rape cases - for girls under 14 - went
down.
Compared to 2009, last year saw a 40 per cent drop in the number of
cases.
Deputy Superintendent (DSP) William Goh, said the police has been
delivering talks on teenage sex and the law to students from
secondary schools and junior colleges, as well as training teachers
so that they can raise awareness on the issue.
"Since 2009, the police have extended such talks to social service
networks, with the objective of widening the reach to create a
greater awareness of the legal and social consequences of teenage
sex," he added.
Mr Yusof Ismail, chief executive of Ain Society, which works with
troubled youth, suggested the authorities could extend these talks
to primary school students as he was now seeing children, aged 12
to 14, becoming sexually active.
He said: "If we want to bring numbers down over the next five
years, we should consider extending efforts upstream."
Clinical psychologist Carol Balhetchet suggested using role models,
such as celebrities, to deliver the abstinence message.
"Families could help in spreading the right values but parents
sometimes don't touch on the subject because it is awkward," she
added
Agreeing, DSP Goh said all stakeholders, including the community,
schools, parents, and media have an important role to play in
educating youth against underage sex.
"Care should be taken by families to observe changes in the
behaviour or activities of the young as most of the perpetrators in
such cases are known to the victims," he added.
-CNA/ac
