BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – A total of 251 children and adolescents are now on the newly launched Child Protection Register after being identified as at risk of abuse, neglect and other welfare issues.
All 251 active cases were categorized as yellow (medium) or red (urgent) under a three-color coding system.
On Monday, the Registration of Children and Youth in Need of Protection (RCYPNP) was launched as part of a national framework for child protection to establish a centralized data system for vulnerable children.
The registration will help the government develop, monitor and evaluate child protection policies more efficiently, Hjh Nor Ashikin Hj Johari, Under Secretary of Culture, Youth and Sports, said at launch.
She said registration is implemented in two phases.
As the central and leading agency for overseeing data collection, the Community Development Department (JAPEM) will use the system in Phase 1 before it becomes available to other agencies in Phase 2.
Siti Zaharah Hj Abdul Razak, Assistant Director of Family, Women and Children at JAPEM, said training needs to be conducted before proceeding to the second phase of implementation.
“We still need to sit with the agency because, like any other database, we need to step by step and take security and confidentiality factors into account,” she told Scoop. ..
The register is Facilitates data sharing and monitoring between ministries of children and adolescents in need of urgent protection.
JAPEM said in a statement that the national framework focuses on children and adolescents under the age of 18.
This framework defines child abuse as an act of harm to a parent, guardian, or child, whether physically, emotionally, or sexually, and is determined based on expert evaluation.
Child abuse can occur in physical form. Emotional / Psychological; Sexual; Forget; Exposure to domestic violence, as well as exposure / misuse of drugs and toxic substances.
The framework also sets national priorities for improving the protection of vulnerable children and adolescents.
Under the framework, used by frontline workers Four Sector Rating Protocols (SAP) for handling and enrolling cases of children and adolescents in need of protection.
4 SAPs The main sectors involved in child protection are — Social welfare, education, health and executive departments.
Through each SAP, government agencies will be able to identify vulnerable children and adolescents and conduct preliminary screening of received reports, said Syifa Syaheerah Abu Hanif, Deputy Head of Community Development.
“You can also use a green, yellow, or red color coding system to determine the risk level of a case,” she said.
Green refers to mild cases that are processed and monitored by the sector and do not require referral to a child protection system.
“What makes up a green case? To give you a scenario, a child in school looks bad and may have cuts, but further evaluation reveals that the child has hurt himself. Not classified as abuse because it was done.
“Relevant agencies will continue to monitor and if child abuse occurs, [colour code] Turns yellow [the case] It will be submitted to the system, “says Syifa Syaheerah.
