Over 470 youth arrested for sexual crimes in 2023; offenders’ exposure to porn cited as a reason

More youth aged 19 and below committed sexual crimes in 2023, with more than 470 of them getting arrested for such offences, about a 30 per cent rise from 2022.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling, who said this at the police’s Sexual Crime Awareness Seminar at the Police Cantonment Complex on April 15, cited two reasons for this increase.

One was that youth were being exposed early to sexually explicit materials or adult sexual activity, and the other was their access to inappropriate or inaccurate information about sexual behaviours and relationships.

The police said among those young people arrested, sexual penetration of minors was the most common offence. In most cases, victims knew the culprits.

Ms Shamala Gopalakrishnan, lead psychologist and assistant director of the Ministry of Home Affairs’ (MHA) Home Team Psychology Division, highlighted the rise of the internet and mobile phones, and youth being digital natives.

She said: “The internet has become an accessible ‘sex educator’ through spreading misinformation on sex and relationships through sexually explicit materials, including pornography. That’s our concern.”

She added that without early detection of sexually inappropriate behaviours displayed by youth, they can become preoccupied with online sexually explicit materials.

“They adopt unrealistic, harmful perceptions towards women and girls, and this can contribute to sexual offending.”

To address this, Ms Shamala said the division is working with the Ministry of Education (MOE) to develop programmes to reduce the likelihood of inappropriate behaviours and sex offences.

The police said the seminar’s aim was to raise awareness of the youth sexual offending situation, and the criminal justice procedures for both offenders and victims.

Those present at the seminar included the Attorney-General’s Chambers, MOE, the Ministry of Social and Family Development, Singapore Prison Service, non-profit organisation SG Her Empowerment, and specialists from the Serious Sexual Crime Branch.

To tackle sexual offences among youth, Ms Sun said the police, MHA and MOE have been working to improve training for counsellors who help children and youth.

Both ministries are developing a resource package to train counsellors in schools and in the community to recognise early signs of harmful sexual behaviours in children and youth, she said.

The package will be available in the second half of 2024 and will enable counsellors to intervene early, added Ms Sun.

Speaking to the media, she said counsellors will be taught to address students on difficult topics such as sexual crime, and look out for red flags pertaining to this. “In this resource package, there are also scenarios and more details about what are harmful sexual behaviours. We think that this is important in our early intervention measures to better equip our young with an understanding of what constitutes sexual crime.”

The police will also visit schools to give talks on sexual crime prevention.

More support will be provided for young victims of sexual crimes as they are particularly vulnerable and may require support even after the police case is concluded, said Ms Sun.

The police and their community partners have been exploring a structured referral process for more young victims to receive long-term care by linking them with agencies that can provide the intervention they need, she added.

In February, a legislative framework for conducting forensic medical examinations, under the Criminal Procedure (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act, was passed to better deal with sexual crime.

Ms Sun said: “The new legislative framework empowers the police to secure valuable forensic evidence in the investigation of serious sexual offences and other major crimes, while ensuring the safety and dignity of victims.

“This is especially important when victims are minors as they are more vulnerable and need more support through and beyond the investigation process.”

At the second edition of the seminar in April 2023, it was announced that sexual crime victims would be given priority and greater privacy when they file reports at neighbourhood police centres.

Ms Sun said this initiative has been fully implemented, and instead of getting a queue number, those reporting sexual crimes will be brought to a private area to lodge their report.

Meanwhile, a redesigned centre that allows sexual crime victims to undergo forensic and medical examinations in a private facility, instead of being taken to a public hospital, has been fully operational since April 2023.

Ms Sun said 90 victims have since been examined at this One-Stop Abuse Forensic Examination (OneSAFE) Centre, which was designed to give them a sense of safety and security, especially after a traumatic sexual incident.

Trained volunteers known as victim care officers will also offer practical and emotional support under the Victim Care Cadre Programme (VCCP) while police investigations are ongoing.

Under the VCCP, Ms Sun said, the police are piloting a collaboration with the Singapore University of Social Sciences to tap the expertise of students pursuing their master’s in forensic psychology.

Since March, these students, who went through the same training process that victim care officers did, have been activated to respond to victims’ needs.

One such student is Ms Charmaine Foo, 26, a clinical counsellor working with mothers struggling with mental health and children at risk of suicide.

Speaking to the media at the seminar, Ms Foo said she felt compelled to help young victims of sexual assault after her work as a caseworker at a residential girls’ home.

“In sexual assault cases, sometimes a family member is the perpetrator. So, victims may worry about the repercussions if they speak out against their father, for example. They may question how their mother would treat them, and can sometimes feel alienated.”

Ms Foo said in some cases, the victims feel shame and guilt even though they did nothing wrong. “My role is to hear them out, tell them that the feelings and reactions they are having are normal, and to direct them to get the appropriate help they need.”

Source: Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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