As heinous a crime as date rape is, it hardly goes reported to the authorities, due to the stigma attached to the victims and a lack of awareness about rape.
The Womens Aid Organisation (WAO) says that 90% of rapes in Malaysia goes unreported, mostly because we live in a society that tends to blame the victim in such cases rather than the aggressor.
The Star Online‘s D Kanyakumari reports that just in 2013, the WAO was contacted by 34 people seeking help in overcoming the trauma of rape. Of that number, only 10 met counselors in person.
WAO executive director Ivy Josiah said that unlike many other countries, people in Malaysia are afraid to talk about rape because of the stigma attached to it.
“In the west, their rape hotlines are busy throughout the day, but here, despite the crime occurring often, victims do not come forward because we lack awareness on the issue and many often doubt if they will be protected after.
“Even when they do come forward to talk about it, it is often with cold rage, two or three years after they experience the attack,” she said.
She added that more victims of domestic abuse are willing to come forward to report those crimes, due to victims of such crimes being more sympathetic. When reporting a rape, victims often go through a “second rape” in which they are interrogated with questions like ‘What were you doing with him?’, ‘Why did you wear something like that?’, or ‘why were you there at that time?’ – causing them to rather suffer in silence than step forward.
“When you have a society that suggests that it is your fault you were raped, victims no longer have a conducive environment in which to seek support.
“Worse still, unless a victim is bleeding or battered, the police often doubt their statements, disregarding the fact that some women do not fight back in fear of their lives,” Ivy said.
80% of victims who approach the organisation were raped by someone they knew, according to the WAO.
“People need to know what rape is and what are their rights in terms of protecting their bodies.
“They need to understand that though the law states rape is penetration of the penis, exploitation of compromising photos of a women to reduce her and control her sexuality is also a form of emotional rape,” said Ivy.
