PUTRAJAYA, Oct 24 — Datuk Seri Azalina Othman today launched the updated Special Guidelines for Handling Sexual Crimes Against Children, saying the document could later be gazetted as mandatory procedures when dealing with crimes against minors.
She said the updated guideline, first introduced in 2017, focuses on four main components:
- Making preliminary reports and investigations more ethical, with the goal of minimising trauma;
- Making court procedures more child-friendly, including through the use of video recordings and live-links;
- Appointing witness support or legal guardians to assist victims; and
- Providing continued psychosocial support and rehabilitation even after trial.
“Even though the guideline is not legally binding, it represents a crucial streamlining of best practices for all related agencies, and provides the window to gazette them as mandatory procedures in the future,” Azalina said at the launch here.
Also present was Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Hasnah Mohammed Hashim.
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