Once again, rape is rearing its ugly façade on our daily papers. Whether it may be the brutal rape and murder by a stranger, rape of a child by her elderly relatives or as in the most recent case, a young girl being gang-raped by her acquaintances and his friends. Let's take a guess at the predominant response: women must take care in where they go, who they go out with, what they are wearing or how they are behaving. As for the rapists, let's put them in jail longer, whip them, castrate them or hang them. Sounds all too familiar, doesn't it?

Pop analysts on the streets are all too quick on the uptake to provide solutions and personal evaluation of this phenomenon. Why do you think rape happens? What do we believe to be the ultimate solution to finally wipe this crime from our society?

Before we move on, let's have a quick look at some facts. Research has shown that rape is the most underreported crimes in the world. In Malaysia, 9 out of 10 rapes go unreported. This means that out of the 1,431 reported cases last year, there were actually more than 14,000 rape incidents that happened in our country in 2002 alone. The number of reported rape cases has been steadily increasing with a slight dip in year 2000. Statistics last year shows that only about 20% of rape incidents happened in public places, while nearly 70% of them happened in the "safety" of homes. Nearly 80% of rapists are people known by the survivor. A research done by a local women's organisation shows that almost all convicted rapists believe themselves to be faultless and undeserving of their punishment. A quick look at the reported cases in the press shows that there is no single profile of rape survivors, save that they are all women (since rape is a gender specific crime in this country) - females as young as a few months old to elderly grandmothers and girls clad in baju kurung to miniskirts have been subjected to rape.

These are facts and numbers which effectively debunk most of our common beliefs about rape. If rape is about behaviour and clothes, then surely only one specific type of woman gets raped. If rape is about not going out late at night, then surely rapes should only happen after 7pm, outside of the homes by strangers. If terribly severe punishments can stop rape, then how does this work on most rapists who think they have not committed a crime since they are faultless in their actions; surely cases should have decreased in commensuration with harsher punishments through the years. If rape is the act of psychotics, then how is it possible that there are more than ten thousand madmen walking in our streets in a perfectly normal way?

Granted that there may be a small percentage of rapists, potential or otherwise, who may be deterred by harsher punishment or are insane or only target girls in sexy clothing. But is it justified then for us to take the exception as the rule? So can we for once and for all, throw these myths and their consequent analyses out of the window in dealing with the question of rape.

What is rape? Legally, it is the penetration of the vagina by a penis without consent. To a woman's life, it is the threat of violation to her most personal space that constricts her ability to shape her identity and live her life. This is compounded by our perpetuation of myths that constantly points the blaming finger at women. To the rapist, it is the use of sex as a weapon to exert his power and domination against another person. The proliferation of rape is promulgated by mass education of men as the stronger sex, and women being sexually objectified.

Which brings us back to the original question, what do we do about this crime? Although we may never come to a final, definite answer, there are some constructive questions we may ask ourselves:

• What myths are we propagating in making it easier for the rapists to get away with their actions? If we misplace the blame on the survivors, how does this make it more difficult for women to come forward and report, and how does this make it easier for rapists to think punishments do not concern them? Do we blame girls for being naïve, while ignoring the fact that we have been teaching young women that men are to be entrusted with the role of protectors?
  
  
• How do we perceive men and women on the issue of sexuality? Do we think and encourage the perpetuation of the belief that men are dictated by their sexual urges and have a right to fulfill them, or else all hell would break lose? Do we encourage girls or women to think that they are sexual objects merely to be valued on a superficial level?
  
  
• Are we creating a safe space for discussion and education about sexuality, or do we think it does not concern us since we are morally above it all?
  
  
• Are we educating ourselves more about rape and learning the various ways in which we can start to prevent this crime from happening, or are we taking a passive role in reading the rape cases just to spice up our daily intake of news?
  
  
• How much do we know about the legal system in Malaysia with regards to rape, and what a survivor goes through from making the initial police report till the case goes to court? Are we then fully equipped to state that harsher punishment is the only solution?
  
  
• What are we doing to encourage the principle of respect towards another person's right to self-determination?

Lastly, how can we collectively as a community make the environment safer for women and rape free?

Jaclyn Kee
7th September 2003

Fortnightly Column by WAO on Sunday Mail (Reprinted with permission from Sunday Mail)