Rape cases in safe spaces

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PETALING JAYA: The various movement control orders since the outbreak of Covid-19 did not stop rapists from getting at their victims – in too many cases, the restricted mobility merely trapped survivors with people they should have been able to trust.

“While there was a drop in cases, it was not a significant one compared with pre-pandemic times,” said Bukit Aman Sexual, Women and Child Investigations Division (D11) assistant director Asst Comm Siti Kamsiah Hassan (pic).

“In 2019, we recorded 1,453 rape cases, of which we charged 818 people. The next year, we recorded 1,378 rape cases and charged 728. In 2021, there were 1,390 rape cases, with 510 charged.

“So, you can see that rape cases are still above the one-thousand mark despite people not moving much during the MCO,” she added.

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Between January and March 2022, D11 received 302 rape reports, and ACP Siti Kamsiah expects this number to rise.

A total of 2,056 rape cases went to trial between 2019 and 2021. The department’s statistics show that 19 cases were charged in court between January and March 2022.

“For cases that lead to pregnancy, sometimes our investigations are easier because there is an identified suspect and we can do a DNA test once the baby is born.

“But we look at it on a case-by-case basis,” she said.

The same trajectory can be seen with incest cases, where there was no significant drop from 2019.

There were 300 cases recorded in 2019, 259 in 2020 and 245 in 2021.

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Up till March 2022, the department had received 55 incest reports.

“Incest is classified as sexual relations between people who cannot marry, so if it’s rape by someone whom you cannot marry, we would classify that under sumbang mahram (incest).

“The majority of victims are children, and cases are normally exposed by other family members.

“Victims also come to realise their situation after some time either by talking to friends or when they get older and gain awareness,” said ACP Siti Kamsiah.

Many cases go unreported and the police urge survivors to come forward regardless of how long ago they suffered the abuse, she added.

“Yes, a lot get confused about this and they don’t want to go to the police themselves because there were no witnesses or the incident occurred a long time ago.”

But she said circumstantial evidence such as supporting statements from other family members can be used to build a case against a perpetrator.

Criminologist Datuk Dr P. Sundramoorthy, who was not surprised with the numbers, said many criminologists had predicted that several types of crimes would in fact rise during the MCO, including sexual offences such as rape and incest.

“The statistics clearly illustrate that, and the majority of sexual offences are committed by people known to the victims, people they are familiar with such as a close family friend, neighbour or family member.

“It has been clearly established over many decades that most of the cases do not happen on the streets or in nightclubs.

“Most sexual offences occur in the homes of the victims or perpetrators. Do not forget that incest cases generally do not occur outside homes.

“When you are in a familiar environment, you let your guard down. This is typical of human nature at home. Some amount of trust has been built between the two, and it is this trust that allows the perpetrator to violate the victim,” he added.

Society has also made it difficult for survivors to come forward because the ones who do are often discriminated against, noted Sundramoorthy.

“You must understand that the self-esteem of survivors is generally very low after going through something traumatic. By the time they do come forward, a lot of mental and emotional issues would have taken place and they are already damaged by the experience.

“The stigmatisation is real – you can see on social media the amount of victim-blaming that goes on. They think that victims created the opportunity, but I can assure you that nobody intentionally wants to be a victim of sexual offences,” he said.

But Sundramoorthy still urged survivors to file reports, which could provide closure to this very traumatic episode in their lives.

“Have faith in our criminal justice system – although there is some negative feedback about it, it is the only system that can take the necessary action against the violators.

“The authorities’ first point of contact must also have a lot of empathy for the victim. They must be ready to listen and not to make uncalled-for statements that could traumatise the victim further,” he added.