KOTA KINABALU: With incest still a problem in Sabah, the authorities and social justice advocates are working to get families to recognise the importance of supporting victims instead of protecting their abusers.
State Native Affairs Council president Dr Benedict Topin said incest cases did not usually surface unless complaints were made to the local community or native leaders.
“We advise victims to speak up so that not only the native laws on these matters can be enforced, justice can also be served to the victims,” he said.
Unfortunately, these cases would often see perpetrators getting away with fines according to the district native laws or “sogit”, unless they involve physical abuse, violence or injuries, in which case they may be referred to the police.
Asked if the council had more information on incest and which districts had more cases, he said: “We are in the process of completing papers for the setting up of the Native Court Judicial Department, which will include the development of a data management system of the Sabah Native Court Cases records so that we will have an e-service info centre.”
According to Sabah police, of the incest cases reported between 2017 and 2021, Penampang tops the list with 14 cases, followed by Kota Kinabalu (13), Keningau (13) and Sandakan (12).
Tawau, Semporna, Kota Marudu, Labuan and Beluran had nine cases each while Tuaran and Papar recorded eight cases each.
Kota Belud, Kinabatangan and Beaufort recorded seven cases each while Lahad Datu and Ranau each had six cases.
There were also three reports in Kudat, two each in Tenom and Sipitang, and one in Kunak.
Sabah Commissioner of Police Comm Datuk Idris Abdullah said this brought the total number of reports to 154 cases, with 2017 having 30 cases, 2018 (24), 2019 (36), 2020 (37) and 2021 (27).
A social worker, who wanted to be known only as Pauline, said families should provide support and help to the victims instead of protecting the abusers.
Pauline, who is in charge of a non-governmental organisation, said many of the reported cases in Sabah were often made known only after they get pregnant or were about to give birth.
“In many cases, the mother of the victim suspects something is going on but refuses to acknowledge and take action,” she said, adding that native or syariah courts were used to handle many of these cases instead of criminal law.
Pauline said this was because the victim’s own family chose “honour over justice”.
She said from the cases her NGO had handled, it was sad to see that in this day and age, there were still cases of incest in which the victims often did not know that what happened to them was illegal.
When victims lacked exposure to such issues or were too young to understand, they would not know that what happened was wrong, she added.
“When incest happens, it tends to be shrouded in secrecy.
“The welfare and interest of the child involved is weighed against the interest of the family and most of the time, those who lodge reports are teachers or secondary relatives such as the aunt of the victim,” said Pauline.
This, she said, should not be the case because at any time, the victim should be protected and helped while perpetrators should be punished or if it involved a minor, proper rehabilitation.
“There are even instances where the offender feels that it is his right to do it with his own flesh and blood,” she said.
The Women’s Centre for Change (WCC) in Penang recently launched its victim support services report entitled “Standing With Sexual Crime Victims: WCC Support Services”.
Among other things, the report showed how victim support was crucial in helping women and children who had experienced violence find access to justice.