New Straits Times, Friday, June 30, 2006

Zainah Anwar
Treat rape issue with respect, decorum

THE statements by the Bar Council criminal law sub-committee chairman V. Sithambaram that women lie about rape is a warning to society about the boulders that stand in the way of women demanding to be treated as human beings of equal worth and dignity in this country.

It’s not just the mullahs and ideological Islamists, but also men in suits, learned in law and speaking the Queen’s English, who have not evolved to learn to live, understand and change with the times.

The fact is for every 10 rape cases, it is estimated that only one is reported. The fact is, women who report rape are not women who "want to fix" or "get even" with a man or who "changed their minds" afterwards.

The social stigma, the lack of support system, the institutional victimisation of women who have been raped, and the low prosecution and conviction rates, all combine to make rape in all countries an under-reported crime.

For many rape survivors who have the courage to make a rape report, filing the report with the police, going through the medical examination, subjecting themselves to the cross examination in court, confronting the rapist, are all demeaning, humiliating and traumatic experiences. It is like being raped all over again.

So why would a woman put herself through this trauma and cry rape just to "fix" a man, as Sithambaram believes? Where is the evidence?

No study done has ever found that women lie about rape any more than men lie about other crimes.

And yet sexual assault is the only crime where the relationship between the parties is deemed relevant and the victim’s prior behaviour is considered provocation.

But a man who leaves his brand new Mercedez Benz in a bad part of town is never accused of provoking the theft of his vehicle. The legal system is clear eyed that the theft is the crime.

But when it comes to rape, the way you dressed, the way you talked, the fact that you allowed him to touch you the week before makes your allegation of rape suspect.

Your behaviour becomes the crime that is under trial, rather than the rape.

Your truthful evidence is not enough to secure conviction. It needs to be corroborated, with medical evidence, with eye-witnesses. But in other crimes, the need for corroboration is the exception rather than the rule. The judge can still convict a suspect based on uncorroborated evidence, based on the credibility of the witness.

The fact is law-making and law enforcement remain the domain of men. It furthers male dominance by legitimising discrimination through an ideology that justifies differing treatment on the basis of perceived differences between men and women. And those who define those differences that deny the full humanity of women are those who hold the levers of power.

As our Members of Parliament prepare to debate the Bill submitted by the Select Committee to amend the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code, it behoves them to treat the issues raised with respect and decorum, and with facts and figures, rather than myths, stereotypes and demeaning jokes about women and sex.

The Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) which submitted three memoranda to the Select Committee to address the shortcomings of the laws, especially regarding rape and domestic violence, are in Parliament to provide the MPs with information and arguments to support the amendments made and further reforms needed of the two Bills tabled.

It is significant in that this is the first time in over 20 years Parliament is debating a law introduced by the legislative arm of the Government.

Another legislation on national integrity is also on the drawing board. This is an important development to strengthen Malaysia’s democratic system to ensure that Parliament plays its proper role in making laws and to provide checks and balances to end executive dominance of the legislative body.

In Malaysia’s 49-year history of constitutional governance, laws subject to the scrutiny and consultative process of the parliamentary Select Committee procedure occurred only in five instances — the last, 22 years ago when Parliament established the Select Committee on the Dangerous Drugs (Special Preventive Measures) Bill, 1984.

Other Bills subject to public scrutiny and feedback were the Law Reform Marriage and Divorces Bill 1976, the Court of Adjudicature Amendment Bill 1968, the Criminal Procedure Code Amendment Bill, 1966 and the Minor Offences Amendment Bill 1960.

Many Members of Parliament, just as women’s groups, are looking forward to an informed, rational and rigorous debate in the Lower and Upper Houses on the merits and demerits of the amendments proposed by the Select Committee.

Given that the House will be debating a report from its own body, we hope that the known male chauvinists among the MPs will dignify its own work by displaying respect for women on the issue of rape and domestic violence in this important piece of legislation.