KUALA LUMPUR, 28th
June 2016 – Yeo Bee Yin, of Pusat Khidmat ADUN Damansara Utama, in conjunction
with All Women’s Action Society (AWAM), kicked off their second collaboration
centered on anti-rape awareness today. The launch of the new website, antirogol.com,
aims to educate and provide survivors and the general public with basic
information and resources on rape and sexual violence such as what constitutes
rape, information on the laws pertaining to rape in Malaysia and possible steps
that survivors could take if rape takes place and other avenues where survivors
can seek help.
On average, 3000
rape cases are reported every year in Malaysia. Over 60% of these cases
involved children below eighteen years old. This breaks down to a woman or a
child being raped every three hours. More disturbing and important to note is
that only two out of ten rape cases are estimated to be reported, which means
that the overall number of cases occurring per year would be much higher.
Despite these
rising numbers and the urgent need to address this issue, the toxic belief that
victims are partly or fully responsible for their own violations continues to
permeate. Questions ranging from "What were they wearing?" "Were
they drunk?" to "But she didn't say no" points to society's lack
of understanding and deep-seated need to rationalise that these senseless
violence are somehow deserved and only happen to "the unlucky few",
while sidelining the perpetrator's part from the conversation. Anyone can be a
target of rape, regardless of gender, location, age, clothing, and more. Rape
is never the victim's fault.
This
over-arching culture of victim blaming -- experienced by survivors from family
members and friends to institutions such as police officials, healthcare
providers and in court proceedings -- make it extremely difficult for survivors
to seek the help that they need and might play a factor as to why some might
choose not to report or couldn't report their rape. In such occurences,
measures beyond the justice system such as counselling might prove more
effective in facilitating the healing process for survivors.
It's clear that
there needs to be a complete systemic overhaul and individual shift in attitude
in regards to rape and sexual violence in Malaysia if we were to ever address
this societal ill. Effective and early implementation of awareness programs and
preventative education is a critical step in ensuring the elimination of
long-held prejudices and beliefs about the issue of rape.
Through this
joint campaign, Pusat Khidmat ADUN Damansara Utama and AWAM are determined to
raise awareness on the issue of rape in Malaysia and to provide survivors with
resources that they might need. However, it is only one step of many and a lot
more work needs to be done in order to create a society that respects
everyone’s bodies, rights and dignity.
