A study by All Women’s Action Society (Awam) conducted across a 10-day period last month has recorded 275 testimonials related to alleged sexual harassment and bullying incidents in schools.
The women's rights group said the figure and their subsequent analysis revealed that the "rape joke" highlighted by Form 5 student Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam is only one incident in a systematic culture of sexual harassment.
While supporting the ministry's stand to temporarily transfer the teacher in Ain's case to the Selangor Education Department, Awam said more needed to be done to address the pervasive nature of the problem.
"Our analysis yielded the following findings: 125 cases involved period spot checks, 108 were bullying and 88 were sexual harassment.
"Many survivors experienced more than one form of violation," it said in a statement today.
Women make up a large majority or 91.6 percent of survivors while men represent the remaining 6.2 percent.
Awam said the stories they analysed were primarily retold by two social media influencers, while six survivors had contacted them directly.
Of the number, 108 survivors revealed their ages when they were sexually harassed/bullied, of which 99 were below 18 at the time of the alleged incidents.
"The age subgroup of 13 to 15 years old, when students (especially girls) experience pubertal changes, was found to be the stage when sexual harassment and bullying were most prevalent among survivors," it said.
The NGO further identified primary, secondary and boarding schools as being predominant sites of sexual harassment and bullying, having 51, 58 and 55 cases respectively.
"Violations also occurred in colleges, daycare centres and school camps, though much fewer in the number of cases," Awam added.
Based on the stories, the group said the victims - some with multiple perpetrators - identified the individuals as being predominantly figures of authority at the time.
Out of 311 perpetrators, 247 of them were teachers, ustazah (female religious teacher), ustaz (male religious teacher) and wardens.
"Whilst there were student perpetrators such as prefects and senior students, especially in cases of period spot checks, these violations were committed in the context of a normalised practice that was openly sanctioned and enforced by teachers, ustazah and ustaz," Awam said.
It further noted that while much fewer in numbers, there were also reported cases of sexual harassment and bullying of male survivors.
"Cases of bullying include public humiliation, being slapped and punched, as well as racial bullying.
"Sexual harassment violations include pinching nipples, groping of private parts and being stripped by figures of authority to check for signs of puberty," Awam added.
'Solutions for Education Ministry'
With the problems identified, Awam said there are several long-term solutions achievable by the Education Ministry, starting with the implementation of a gender sensitisation training among school authorities to inculcate fundamental awareness of gender roles, power, physical boundaries, consent and gender-based violence.
It also called for the ministry to establish a working relationship with the Malaysian Counsellors Council to provide the necessary support for teachers who are also their school’s counsellors.
To better prepare future educators, Awam urged for a revision of modules taught in teachers' training colleges to include topics on gender awareness and sensitivity.
Last month, a Twitter thread seeking experiences of sexual harassment survivors revealed dozens of alleged cases linked to period spot checks in schools, some dating back to over 20 years ago.
'Hundreds more stories shared'
Separately, Awam's representative Mayna Ramesh Patel was among a number of Malaysians who came together in an online session hosted by Projek Wawasan Rakyat tonight to read out anonymously submitted stories by survivors of sexual harassment in school.
The stories representing experiences of girls and boys while in school were submitted via a Google form and first shared on Instagram by "Savetheschoolsmy" inspired by Ain's 'Make Schools a Safer Place' movement.
The account was first created on April 27 and as of yesterday had created 270 posts with the survivors' stories, ranging from verbal harassment to physical assault.
Among those who lent their voices to share the painful experiences include women's rights activists Marina Mahathir, Ivy Josiah and Ho Yock Lin, as well as two representatives from Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia. - Mkini
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