Stressing that the sexual assault was a violent crime, she said: “Let’s get serious about how we view, describe, write and penalise sexual crimes of violence.”
Describing the gang rape as mere sexual misconduct was a miscarriage of justice, said Maria, a former MP for Petaling Jaya and former Bersih chairman now with a community NGO called Martabat PJ.
She said rape should not be perceived as a misconduct since it involves physical force, coercion, or lack of consent and causes physical, psychological, and emotional harm.
“Using ‘sexual misconduct’ would downplay the severity of the crime, making it sound like inappropriate behaviour rather than a serious assault.
“It downplays rape to refer it as a disciplinary term, used in schools, workplaces, or professional settings where someone violates a code of conduct but not necessarily commits a crime.”
The education ministry said on Saturday that it “would not compromise with sexual misconduct” after four Form 5 boys were arrested for the rape of a 15-year old Form 3 pupil in Alor Gajah, Melaka.
The four reportedly committed the offence at about 2.50pm on Oct 2, while she was going to collect something from the classroom. Two of the boys reportedly watched and recorded the incident with their phones.
Earlier today, the education ministry said the four suspects would be allowed to sit for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examination from Nov 3.
Maria said sexual misconduct would apply to a teacher who made lewd comments to a pupil, but rape was both sexual violence and a crime.
She said that Martabat PJ is urging the government to immediately implement comprehensive sexual education to teach young people about respect, rights and dignity.
The fact that the rapists committed the crime on school grounds and then shared the video online showed that they did not respect women and girls and believe that sex is an entitlement, Maria said.
“Do not wait till 2027 to start the education process.
“There is an urgent need to tackle the rapid rise of online misogyny that can create misconceptions about sexual violence among young people,” she said, adding that there were enough experts and teaching tools to be incorporated into school curriculum.