The dreaded paedophile is like a snake in the grass.

Singling out the monster is difficult as there is no typical paedophile - until they rear their ugly head and strike at our children.

Two-thirds of paedophiles are known to children as the offenders are often disguised as volunteers at agencies dealing with children, say the Malaysian Paediatric Association (MPA) and the College of Paediatrics Malaysia.

They said paedophiles would establish themselves in a position of trust to remain close to their victims.

"Statistics indicate that your child could be more at risk from someone they know than from a complete stranger," they said in a joint statement in Kuala Lumpur today.

This was in light of the conviction of British paedophile, Richard Huckle, who sexually abused 191 children of which, 22 were Malaysian child victims.

According to the statement, many paedophiles were in the community, such as neighbours, clergy, babysitters, teachers and even family members.

It said their existence could not be denied, adding that identifying them was hard as there was no typical paedophile.

"The welfare and relevant authorities managing child homes must design a vetting system to ensure potential child offenders are not employed.

"Children must be taught the basic stranger danger rules such as never to accept gifts from a stranger or go anywhere with a stranger," it said.

The joint statement also stressed that education on safety should be part of pre-school and school curricula in the form of sex education in Malaysia, noting that sex education was known to be an effective way to keep young children safe from sexual abuse.

"Sex education should serve as a 'vaccine' against sexual abuse. The argument that sex education encourages early sexual activities among teenagers is 'archaic' and a 'myth'," it said.

- Bernama