More than 470 youths aged 19 and below were arrested for sexual crimes in 2023, a 30% increase from the previous year. The rise in youth sexual offending may be due to changing societal attitudes towards sexual behavior. To address this issue, authorities will train school and community counselors to identify early signs of harmful sexual behavior in children and youth. This initiative aims to prevent youth sexual offending and provide better support for victims of sexual crimes.
As a relationship counselor and clinical sexologist in Singapore, I believe that addressing the issue of increasing youth sexual offending requires a comprehensive approach. Here are some suggestions:
- Education and Awareness: Implementing sex education programs in schools that cover healthy relationships, consent, and the consequences of sexual offenses is crucial. Increasing awareness campaigns targeting youth can promote respectful behavior and understanding boundaries.
- Counseling and Support: Providing accessible counseling services for young people at risk of engaging in harmful sexual behavior is essential. Training counselors to recognize warning signs and intervene early can make a significant impact.
- Parental Involvement: Encouraging open communication between parents and children about sex and relationships is key. Parents play a vital role in shaping their children’s attitudes towards sex and can help prevent risky behavior.
- Legal Measures: Strengthening laws and penalties for youth sexual offenders is necessary to deter such behavior. Ensuring that victims receive justice and support throughout the legal process is crucial.
- Collaboration: Fostering partnerships between law enforcement, schools, community organizations, and mental health professionals can create a coordinated response to youth sexual offending.
By taking a holistic approach that combines prevention, intervention, and support, we can work towards reducing youth sexual offenses and creating a safer environment for young people in Singapore.
For relationship counseling and/ or sexuality counseling, do contact me here.
About Dr. Martha Tara Lee
Dr. Martha Tara Lee has been a passionate advocate for positive sexuality since 2007. With a Doctorate in Human Sexuality and a Masters in Counseling, she launched our sister company Underneath The Moon in 2009 to help individuals and couples lead self-actualised and pleasurable lives. Her expertise includes working with couples who have unconsummated marriage, individuals with sexual inhibitions and discrepancies in sexual desire, men with erection and ejaculation concerns, and members of the LGBTQIA+ and kink communities. Dr. Lee welcomes all sexual orientations and is available for online and face-to-face consultations. Martha speaks English and Mandarin.
She is the only certified sexuality educator by the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT) in the region (as of 2011) and is also an AASECT certified sexuality educator supervisor (as of 2018). She strives to provide fun, educational, and sex-positive events and is often cited in the media including Huffington Post, Newsweek, South China Morning Post, and more. She is the appointed Resident Sexologist for Singapore Cancer Society, Of Noah.sg, OfZoey.sg, and Virtus Fertility Centre. She is the host of radio show Eros Evolution for OMTimes Radio. In recognition of her work, she was named one of ‘Top 50 Inspiring Women under 40’ by Her World in July 2010, and one of ‘Top 100 Inspiring Women’ by CozyCot in March 2011. She is the author of Love, Sex and Everything In-Between (2013), Orgasmic Yoga: Masturbation, Meditation and Everything In-Between (2015), From Princess to Queen: Heartbreaks, Heartgasms and Everything In-Between (2017), and {Un}Inhihibited (2019).
You can read the testimonials she’s received over years here. For her full profile, click here. Email her here.
