WE refer to the NST online report “PKR senator: Law needed to ‘protect men’ from being seduced into committing sexual crimes” on July 31.
Although the senator has since apologised for his statement, we feel that there is a need to respond to it to show our solidarity on how objectionable the statement was.
A very serious implication of the senator’s statement is his view that women and children who are victims of gender-based violence are to be blamed.
Any violence is a crime and blaming victims for the crime they experienced is unacceptable.
Victim-blaming discourages victims of violence from seeking help.
To demand a law that punishes a victim for daring to expose a wrongdoing and that protects the accused is an act of persecution, unbecoming of a member of a law-making house that is supposed to debate laws.
Another inference from the senator’s proposal is that he has little confidence in the decency of his fellow men.
Men who commit aggression and violence against women and children desire immediate gratification and feel able to achieve this with power and control that they have over those seen weaker than themselves.
Whoever the victim may be, including an adult woman or man, there is no justification for men, or anyone, to commit incest, rape and molestation.
In the 1980s, women’s groups proposed and campaigned for bills to address rape, sexual harassment, domestic violence, objectification of women in the media, incest and child abuse.
These efforts have continued until today because many of the issues have not been addressed adequately.
One of the factors that hinder progress on this front is the gender- biased and misogynistic perspectives demonstrated by policy and lawmakers.
Women’s groups have documented remarks made by men, and sadly, sometimes by women, in Parliament and state legislative assemblies, that reflect their toxic views of women and their circumstances that dehumanise them and trivialise their perils as victims of gender-based violence.
These are people in positions of power, who, if only they use their power and space with greater reflection and wisdom, could have made this country a more just place.
At the Centre for Research on Women and Gender (Kanita), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), the issue of gender-based violence forms a core of our academic and advocacy work.
In 2009, USM adopted the University Policy on Sexual Harassment and the corresponding grievance mechanism.
A university-level committee was set up to raise awareness about sexual harassment.
It works with USM’s Legal Office and the Office of the Ombudsman to eradicate sexual harassment in the workplace by dealing firmly with perpetrators and providing support to victims.
Gender-based crimes affect all levels of society as we see women, young and old, children male and female, and babies being victimised in the most appalling and heart-breaking manner.
So even though we appreciate that the senator had apologised, we hope he, and the people who share his view, would learn from this objection and strive to be more sensitive and responsible to provide safe spaces for all.
NORAIDA ENDUT AND HAJAR ABDUL RAHIM
Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang