KOTA KINABALU (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – An 11-year-old has been raped by her own grandfather for over a year, but she never told anyone because she did not realise what the grandfather did was wrong.

However, in February, the Year Five pupil realised that she had been sexually abused following a sex education class at her school.

The girl confided to a teacher following the lesson, and the teacher alerted the girl’s mother who later lodged a police report.

It resulted in the subsequent arrest of her 50-year-old farmer grandfather who was sentenced to 27 years in jail by the Sessions Court here on Thursday.

Sabah Women’s Action Resources Group president Winnie Yee has now renewed calls for sex education to be implemented in all schools in the state.

She said the incident was sad but proved that sex education matters, and could even prompt victims to seek help.

“We are now working towards having the state Education Department expand sex education to all schools in Sabah.

“Every school needs to have someone who can handle and talk about these issues,” Yee said.

She said according to reports by various non-governmental organisations including Unicef there is an increasing trend of adolescent sex in Malaysia.

According to the report, without correct information and skills to cope with the growth to adulthood, some young people experiment with drugs and engage in unprotected sex, thus increasing their risk of unwanted pregnancies as well as contracting HIV, hepatitis and other sexually transmitted diseases.

It also stated that lack of life-skills also contribute to other social problems amongst some adolescents such as juvenile delinquency and bullying in schools.

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