Our work
CRIB Foundation works to strengthen child protection and child rights in Malaysia through law and policy reform, capacity building, public education and child participation.
Law and policy reform
CRIB advises government on new laws and policies affecting children, and works with ministries, agencies and other NGOs to bring child protection in Malaysia up to international standards. It advises the three Bar Associations in Malaysia on matters affecting children, and advocates for law reform, including an Office of the Children’s Lawyer and joined-up standard operating procedures for all agencies working with children.
Training
CRIB trains judges, judicial officers, prosecutors, legal companions, lawyers, doctors, undergraduates and the public on child protection and on children in the justice system.
CRIB and its leadership have trained about:
- 100 judges and judicial officers
- 300 lawyers
- 50 Deputy Public Prosecutors
- 100 legal companions
- 100 doctors
The team has also trained public prosecutors in Fiji, at the invitation of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Public education and outreach
CRIB works to end child marriage by addressing its social and economic triggers, and runs awareness programmes with the communities most affected. Its outreach in rural and interior areas, including safety outreach to more than 200 indigenous children in rural Sarawak, covers safe touch and the benefits of staying in school.
In November 2025, the Talisman Project was given a free booth at Peszta, an arts festival at the Zhongshan Building in Kuala Lumpur, to raise awareness of child rights and child protection.
In 2017, the Talisman Project was given a free booth at Art for Grabs to run advocacy for child rights and child protection. The theme was bullying, and the children raised support for our anti-bullying policy.
Child Rights Festival 2019
On 23 November 2019, CRIB organised Malaysia’s first Child Rights Festival at POP by Jaya One, Petaling Jaya, to mark 30 years of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The festival was sponsored by the European Union’s Delegation to Malaysia, with UNICEF, SUHAKAM and the MBPJ library as partners.
About 20 booths were run by NGOs and children, and more than 500 people attended. Children from the Talisman Project moderated every stage session, and 50 children from orphanages and welfare homes attended with support raised by CRIB.
Talks and workshops
CRIB’s co-chairpersons regularly give talks and workshops for teachers, parents, students and professionals on child protection, online safety and children’s rights.
Child participation
Through the Talisman Project, CRIB’s youth arm, children aged 12 to 16 learn their rights and train as child advocates. Read about the Talisman Project.
Coalitions
CRIB sits on the Steering Committee of Child Rights Coalition Malaysia and is a member of the Pelajar Bukan Pengantin coalition and the Civil Society SDG Alliance group in Malaysia. Its co-chairperson sits on the Policy and Advocacy Committee of the National Council of Women’s Organisations (NCWO).
Working with companies
CRIB also works with companies and organisations to make their corporate social responsibility projects sustainable. Its work supports the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular SDGs 1, 3, 4, 5, 10 and 11.
Our areas of focus
- Child sexual exploitation and abuse, including statutory rape and teenage pregnancy
- Online safety and bullying
- Comprehensive sex and sexuality education
- Access to education
- Child, early and forced marriage
- Children in the justice system, including children in detention and juvenile justice
- Child rights and child participation