KUALA LUMPUR - They gang-raped a woman and then set her on fire, but after only five years in jail, five men are about to be free to walk the streets of Kuala Lumpur again. Just weeks ago, a 15-year-old ethnic Indian student was raped and murdered, prompting a bitter public outcry.
Malaysian society seems to be sending the wrong signals about rape, beginning with the laws that let off too easily those who commit such a crime to an attitude that it is all right for men to be aggressive while women must suffer in silence. Ivy Josiah of the Women's Aid Organization (WAO) put it succinctly:''Rape is one issue this country has not dealt with properly.''
Women's groups say it is shocking enough that a predominantly Muslim nation like Malaysia is experiencing a rising number of rape cases. But they say it is all the more devastating to realize that authorities are doing little to prevent rapes and less to help the victims.
In 1996, there were 1,071 reported rape cases in Malaysia. This grew to 1,323 the next year, and the upward trend looks to be continuing. In the past four months, the local media have been reporting at least one sexual assault a day. Last month, a woman and her daughter were raped by her 41-year-old son-in-law. A Dutch tourist was gang-raped at a rubber estate.
Activists concede that media coverage and the consequent rise in public awareness are encouraging more and more women to report sexual attacks. This may help explain the increase in recorded rape cases, they say. But they also note that for every 10 rape cases, nine go unreported.
Part of the reason for under-reporting lies in legislation. Local legal advocates have long had problems with the laws pertaining to rapists and other sexual offenders. They point out that the sentences meted out to those found guilty are too light, with a rapist getting only a whipping and a maximum prison sentence of just five years. Also, there is the question of definition. Under Malaysian law, rape occurs only when a man forcefully penetrates a woman's sexual organ with his penis. Using another object such as bottle or a stick, therefore, does not constitute rape.
Non-government organizations have been clamoring for years for the act covering rape and other sexual assaults to be amended. The last time a change in the law was made, however, was in 1989, when it was deemed that a victim's past history could not be brought up to defame her.
Women's groups, however, stop short of asking for the death penalty for those found guilty of rape. They fear this punishment would prevent incest survivors especially from reporting abuse, since they may not want the blood of their fathers or other relatives on their hands.
These days, the All Women's Action Society (AWAM) is asking for the abolition of the stipulation on corroborative evidence such as physical injuries in rape cases. It also wants compensation for rape survivors. At the same time, though, AWAM and other women's groups say whatever is lacking in the law is but a reflection of the flawed societal attitudes regarding rape, its perpetrators and their victims.
AWAM researcher Ong Julynn, for instance, rues the fact that there is high tolerance for men who go around bragging about their sexual prowess, which they equate with being ''real men''. She adds,''Masculinity allows aggression, which leads to rape. There is a thin line between the two.''
Noted WAO's Josiah:''In cases of violence against women, be it in the form of rape, physical abuse or sexual harassment, women are told to be silent.'' But she says this does not stop people from looking with contempt at a woman who has been raped ''because losing her virginity carries a social stigma''. These double standards largely explain the prevailing insensitivity of even authorities and health workers toward rape victims.
(Inter Press Service)
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