Cases of child sexual abuse brought before the courts serve the needs of the legal system instead of the victims, a child sexual abuse trainer said in Kuala Lumpur today.

"Lawyers are only interested in winning the case, in serving their own needs. But what about the child's needs?" Protect and Save The Child (PSTC) trainer Lois Engelbrecht asked the participants at the Child Sexual Abuse training organised by the KL Bar.

"We'll have to change the system and prepare the child for court through education, stress management procedures and improving parental attitude," she added.

The one-day training is part of recent efforts by the legal body to sensitise lawyers, prosecutors, judges and police personnel on the definitions and characteristics of the sexual offender.

For the first time, legal personnel were exposed to effects and signs of abuse, major psychological factors relevant to the sexually abused child, as well as ways of handling disclosures and responding to abuse.

Engelbrecht, a trainer on child sexual abuse for 10 years, explained the importance of a court educator to the young professionals, who comprised about 30 lawyers and a few police officers.

"Educators are to teach basic court rules, act as liaison officers between the courts, parents and lawyers, serve as a referral point and to provide support," she said.

"Even though police have a good case, evidence is crucial in bringing justice to the victim and nail the offender," she said, adding that a traumatised child may just "close up" and not provide evidence.

Death penalty

Engelbrecht said having stringent laws was not enough to curb sexual abuse. For example, in the Philippines when they enacted the death penalty for incest, the number of cases plummeted.

"The police was so happy because they achieved their needs. But the reason why cases reduced was because victims were not coming out to report," she said.

Victims or daughters, she said, usually loved the abusers, their fathers, and the question often posed by victims at the police station was: "Will my father get help?"

When they were told there was no counselling or rehabilitation for the fathers, daughters would decline making police reports, she added.

Engelbrecht said, in Sweden, where incest was punishable by a two-year jail term and counselling, more victims were willing to come forward and report the case.

Perfect family

Engelbrecht added that incest often occurs in a family where mothers were weak or mentally absent, where the family was socially or geographically isolated or very religious.

"Usually they look like the perfect family," she said.

She said that due to culture and religion, sexual offenders are often "excused" or allowed to deny "responsibility, intent and harm" towards the victims.

"This happens because we have different standards for men and women. Men are often understood if they can't control their sexual urges whereas women have a heavy responsibility to prevent sexual abuses from happening to them," she added.

PSCT is a project of the Malaysian Child Research Institute. PSCT coordinates the Coalition Against Child Sexual Abuse, comprising 23 NGOs recently set up to deal with training, counselling and caring for sexually abused children below 18.