This is a very painful article to write. But the pain is nothing compared to what has happened, probably is happening, to countless women and girls in the world, every hour, every day. In Malaysia, it seems to be almost cyclical. Every year, there will be a few cause celeb cases of rape causing public outroar and media frenzy. This is caused mainly by our collective incomprehension by the extreme violence and brutality demonstrated in the particular cases. Before we make another impassioned call for castration, mental health checks and death penalties, let's take a moment and reflect upon the individual lives that is deeply affected by this - feel the sorrow, remember the strengths and memorise the names.

Nonetheless, that is really not enough to stop rape from happening again. Thinking about it with regret and exclaiming our disbelief is not enough to make sure that women and girls can live their daily lives without the shadow of sexual assault threatening their safety. We need to take action, and we need to do so urgently. But before we launch into a verbal assault on "mad men" who have no conscience, we need to think carefully about how we are implicated in perpetuating this violence. What do we do, say and think that makes rape as a violating act possible in our society?

We are all an active part in this community. Everything that we do will impact upon how other people live their lives and vice versa. Rape is not the desperate action of a sex crazed lunatic. They are perpetrated by otherwise seemingly ordinary people whom we may have contact with everyday. They could be grandfathers, fathers, brothers, bankers, doctors, security guards or even police officers (please do not allow yourself to forget the rapist, Razali Pilen). How are we making this possible?

Forget about the mental image of rape that you have in your minds crafted from news reports in the media. The mass media is an agency that reports only what is newsworthy and extraordinary. It does not have the resources to follow every single rape case that has happened, and believes that the public (read: each and everyone of us) may not be interested unless someone has been raped in a horrific and unusual manner. Ask yourselves, is that true? When our eyes scan across the newspaper, and fix upon a brutal rape case, what is our interest in reading them? Is if for some voyeuristic thrill, cynical confirmation, inexplicable curiosity? In a study made on a UK newspaper, the layout of some rape reports were placed in close proximity to titillating advertisements with scantily dressed women. This is because the press believes that the public (read: us) are interested in rape cases due to its sexual nature. It may sound disgusting and preposterous, but the mass media works on profit, and profit works on giving customers what they want which based on expensive research. We have to seriously question ourselves if this is the message we are sending out.

Why do we think rape happens? Do we still believe that it's about sex, and perpetrated by men who cannot control their sexual urges? That rapists are somehow "sick in head" and are unable to function properly in their lives, and hence can be "screened out". At this tragic moment, it's a hired security guard, but what about fathers who rape their children, husbands who violate their wives, acquaintances who assault their friends, teachers who rape their students or strangers who stalk their victims on the streets? It is untenable to have every single one of us take mental health tests at various points to check if we are potential rapists. Furthermore, this is barking up the wrong tree. If we insist that rapists are mentally ill or psychologically disturbed, we are relieving rapists of fault. What we are saying is basically that there is something "wrong" with this man, so he can't take control of his actions thus cannot be blamed. A study done locally on convicted rapists show that they do know the act they have committed, but they just do not acknowledge their guilt. There is always some form of extenuating circumstance - they were seduced, tricked, it was a false report etc. - anything to remove the responsibility and label of rapist from their names. How are we giving them another set of easy excuse by laying the blame on some problematic neuron instead of their actions?

If we think that it's because of a "sexual over-drive", does that mean that we believe every man has this unstoppable primal instinct that cannot be controlled once they are let loose in the midst of anyone who resembles a female? If we honestly believe this, then we should castrate every man for prevention, not just rapists.

How about the way we value women? If we continue to judge women (and girls) by their appearances and their sexual role (i.e. as receptacles of men's right to have sex and produce babies), it is small wonder that our society functions with rape as a reality. From the moment we teach a three-year-old girl that her sexuality is something to be ashamed of, something that can be appropriated by men, we are giving men the power over women's sexuality. Something that rapists seek to control and dominate when they commit rape because they think they can, and it is rightfully theirs when they rape.

We need to think about this carefully. Are we taking steps to promote rape in our daily conversations, valuation of men and women, sexist jokes, information consumption, rationalisation of violence; or are we taking steps to make rape disappear from reality?

(For an interesting website on an independent media project that counters the mis-representation of rape by the mainstream media, visit the Take Back The News website)

Jaclyn Kee
25th January 2004

Fortnightly Column by WAO on Sunday Mail