Sexual Crimes Against Minors in Malaysia

Abstrak

The rapid advancement of information technology has created a more open space for accessing information. Various types of information can be obtained without limits. Unfortunately, pornography has also become part of the content easily accessible to minors, influencing deviant behavior. The main objective of this study is to examine the consumption, impact, and influence of visual pornography on sexual crime websites on factors contributing to suicide. This research uses a qualitative approach based on in-depth interviews and literature studies, analyzed using legal sociology theory. Eight female informants living in the Lembah Klang region, Malaysia, were recruited to collect data, supplemented by literature such as journal articles, books, and research reports. This study concluded that inadequate social control over access to pornographic content has contributed to the increase in sexual crimes. Sexual crimes include offenses related to inappropriate sexual behavior such as sodomy, rape, incest, and sexual harassment. An investigation conducted by the Sexual, Women, and Children Investigation Division (D11) of the Criminal Investigation Department, Bukit Aman, revealed that there were 1,299 cases of rape of minors in 2021, increasing to 1,590 cases in 2023. Therefore, sociologically, the lack of control over minors' access to pornographic websites leads to pornography addiction, which triggers a higher tendency towards suicide attempts. Therefore, it is recommended that legal regulations regarding access to pornographic websites be tightened to reduce the occurrence of sexual crimes among minors.