PETALING JAYA: A child rights advocacy group has voiced strong concern over a recent proposal suggesting that girls involved in statutory rape cases be charged alongside adult male perpetrators.
The CRIB Foundation said such an approach would effectively criminalise victims, reinforce a culture of victim-blaming, and undermine the protective intent of the law.
"Under current law, statutory rape charges are rightly brought against the man.
"Extending liability to the girl is a regressive proposal that fundamentally contradicts the protective purpose of the law," it said in a statement here on Tuesday (Sept 23).
The group stressed that criminalising children is never the solution, warning that such a move would deter victims from reporting abuse for fear of punishment.
"Charging girls under 16 would dangerously reinforce victim-blaming narratives. This is not protection; it is punishment disguised as morality," it added.
Instead, the foundation proposed that the Penal Code be amended to include a peer-to-peer defence, also known as a "sweetheart defence", in cases of consensual relationships where the age gap between the parties is not more than three years and there is no power imbalance.
The organisation pointed to international examples, noting that Canada, South Africa, and several Australian states already provide close-in-age defences.
It added that the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has explicitly recommended provisions to prevent criminalising adolescents for consensual, non-exploitative activity.
"Malaysia acceded to the UN Optional Protocol in 2011. We must not fall behind international human rights standards," CRIB said.
The group also raised concern about the lack of comprehensive reproductive health education in schools.
It said many adolescents are unaware that consensual sex with a person under 16 is a crime.
"The State has a duty to educate and empower children with knowledge, not punish them for its own failure to provide essential information," it said.
The foundation further warned of the severe consequences of custodial sentences and institutionalisation, noting that many children placed in Sekolah Tunas Bakti or welfare homes struggle to reintegrate into mainstream education.
"Girls in these institutions face particularly limited opportunities to sit for the SPM examinations. Every child denied an education represents a profound loss of potential for our nation," it added.
CRIB urged the government to release data on the percentage of children in these institutions who complete their SPM, as well as recidivism rates among detained minors, to help shape more effective policies.
It added that recommendations to amend the law to include a peer-to-peer defence had already been presented to the Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code Reform Committee, which held multiple townhalls this year.
"What is urgently needed now is the political will to enact these amendments," the foundation said.
It also renewed its call for child marriage exceptions to be abolished and for the legal minimum age of marriage to be set at 18.
"Every time we shift blame onto children, we put them at risk. Childhood must be a time for growth, safety, and learning - not prosecution or early marriage.
"Protecting children is not only a moral duty, it is an investment in Malaysia’s future," it said.
