The sentence of a man jailed for Internet child pornography offences has been described as "too lenient" by child psychiatrist Dr Samuel Shafe.

"Sex crime legislation needs to be reformed immediately to protect children from sexual predators. We need to recognise that child sexual abuse is not restricted to physical contact, but includes forms of non-contact abuse such as exposure, voyeurism and child pornography," Shafe said on Wednesday.

He explained that current legislation also does not deal with persons who use children or young persons under the age of 18 years for sexual gratification through "flashing" and indecent exposure.

He said the law needs to be "modernised" to move in on persons who use children in pornographic activity and distribute such material.

"It's important to get the facts on child abuse, so we're aware of the dangers and can protect our children," Shafe said.

Shafe made the comment during a seminar on sex abuse at the TTPost Grounds in Diego Martin. The event was hosted by the North West Regional Health Authority (NWRHA).

Shafe was joined by representatives from the Rape Crisis Centre and members of the National Family Service Division.

The initiative is part of a series of seminars launched by the NWRHA to increase child sexual abuse awareness among St George West and St George Central residents.

"Sex offences and definitions which have been consulted on in the last two years, in terms of updating our laws, need to take into account the horrendous incidents that we have seen headlined in the country recently," Shafe said.

Five months ago, four-year-old Amy Emily Annamunthodo was murdered. She was raped, sodomised and beaten to death on May 15.

Her stepfather, Marlon King, 33, was charged with beating the child to death, while her mother, 19-year-old Anita Annamunthodo, was charged with five counts of abandonment and willful neglect.

From his work as a child psychiatrist, Shafe said that part of the rehabilitation process would be to find out whether Annamunthodo (Anita) was a victim of child abuse herself.

He noted that she had delivered her first child when she was 13.

"The effects of child sexual abuse are long-lasting and highly damaging. It can cause problems in adult personal relationships. Some children who are abused in this way may go on to become abusers themselves," he said.

While he admitted that there have been more reported cases of sodomisation among children and adolescents in recent times, Shafe said that the prevalence of child and adolescent sexual abuse were difficult to determine because of problems of under-reporting and the lack of one definition of what constitutes such abuse.

In 2004, the Rape Crisis Centre dealt with 24 cases of child sexual abuse, while last year there were 49 cases of child sexual abuse, 16 cases of incest and five cases of buggery.

Shafe said older children are also engaging in the sexual abuse of children by forcing them to carry out sexual acts, including sexual touching, oral sex and intercourse.

"Children imitate what parents do. Those who are exposed to sexual acts intend to want to try it out. This is why there is an increase in children acting out on other children," he said.

Although parents may worry a about paedophiles and the dangers they pose to children, most sexual abuse cases happen in the family home, and are carried out by someone well known to the child.