PARLIAMENT | A parliamentary select committee has recommended legal amendments to ensure equal accountability between both parties involved in “consensual” statutory rape cases.
Yeo Bee Yin (Harapan-Puchong), the chairperson for the parliamentary select committee on women, children, and community development, said the proposal was made based on the committee’s finding that 68.1 percent of statutory rape cases feature consenting parties.
The findings, as detailed in the committee’s report on digital safety and children’s mental health tabled in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday, are understood to have been based on its survey among 5,290 teenagers across seven states in Malaysia.
“Almost half of sexual crimes involve children, and of the sexual crimes involving children, 68.1 percent are consensual cases, where both parties - aged 16 years old and below - agree to have sex,” the DAP MP told the lower house today during a briefing session on the report.
“In such cases, only male students will be charged under the offence of statutory rape under Sections 375 and 376 of the Penal Code, because statutory rape is defined as the offence of a man having sexual intercourse with a woman under the age of 16 (with or without her consent).”
As such, she said the committee recommended that the Home Ministry review and amend the mentioned Penal Code sections, as well as other related acts, so that “both parties are held equally accountable under the law”.
Section 375(g) stipulates that a man has committed rape if he engages in sexual intercourse with a girl below 16 years old, even with her consent, while Section 376 outlines punishments for the offence.
Separate laws, however, provide different provisions for child offenders, with Section 91 of the Child Act 2001 allowing male child perpetrators to be charged, but subject to the special principles of juvenile justice.
This includes placement in approved institutions such as Sekolah Tunas Bakti and Henry Gurney schools.
‘Focus on guidance, rehab’
The committee’s proposal appears to go against Women, Family, and Community Development Minister Nancy Shukri’s previous stance that children who engage in underage sex - regardless of gender - need protection, guidance, and rehabilitation, instead of mere punishment.
Nancy had highlighted that children deserve to be given a second chance to learn from their mistakes and rebuild themselves without being burdened by trauma and stigma.
Her remarks came following Kelantan police chief Yusoff Mamat’s suggestion that girls involved in statutory rape cases should be charged alongside the adult male perpetrator.
He argued for the consideration of his proposal by citing investigations which showed that nearly 90 percent of statutory rape cases are consensual.
In September, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said said Putrajaya is looking into revising laws on statutory rape in a manner that will still uphold the principle of prosecuting offenders while protecting victims.
At the time, Azalina affirmed that the purpose of statutory rape laws is to protect children, not punish them, with existing laws recognising that minors do not have the capacity to provide consent.
Highlighting that if victims are also prosecuted, it could discourage them from seeking help and justice, the minister said a criminal law reform committee has been established to study current provisions before proposing changes.
Lawyers have also suggested legal amendments to allow for provisions that aim to prevent the prosecution of minors for having sex with other minors within a specified age range.
Alarming online risks for children
Yeo told the Dewan Rakyat today that the parliamentary select committee embarked on the report following two incidents which shocked the nation.
In particular, she cited the fatal stabbing of a student at a school in Bandar Utama, and the case of a female student in Baling, initially suspected of gang rape but later classified as statutory sexual assault and statutory rape.
The cases, she said, highlighted the reality that children today are exposed to alarming physical, sexual, digital, and psychosocial risks.
Accordingly, between Oct 30 and Nov 13, the committee held engagement sessions with the Home Ministry, the police, the Health Ministry, MCMC, the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, the Social Welfare Department, as well as the office of the children’s commissioner and Suhakam to examine risk factors, gaps, and necessary regulatory measures.
She also described the internet as a “double-edged sword”, asserting that while the technology offers benefits, it can also cause harm, with excessive internet use among children leading to several concerning symptoms, such as internet gaming disorder (IGD), social anxiety disorder, mental health problems, addiction, and sexual misconduct.
The committee found that 3.5 percent or 315,000 of the teenagers it surveyed were diagnosed with IGD, which it defined as a persistent and repetitive gaming that results in significant impairment, including social withdrawal and loss of interest in other activities.
“IGD is closely associated with impulsive tendencies, particularly motor impulsivity, and short attention span. In terms of mental health impact, among adolescents with IGD, 48.1 percent experience severe anxiety, 37.4 percent experience severe depression, and 18.2 percent suffer severe stress.
“IGD is also significantly associated with social anxiety disorder, characterised by social anxiety and avoidance of social interactions. Together, IGD and social anxiety disorder can negatively affect overall child development,” Yeo said.
As such, the committee recommended that the National Centre of Excellence for Mental Health (NCEMH) under the Health Ministry be designated as the national focal point responsible for safeguarding children’s mental health in Malaysia.
The Education Ministry and the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry were suggested to act as strategic partners.
“The committee further recommends that the government strengthen NCEMH by increasing the number of medical specialists and psychology officers, while enhancing its allocation to address mental health cases among children,” Yeo said.
She noted that the committee is of the view that the management of children’s mental health requires professional services and expertise, as well as systematic management.
“We cannot rely on teachers because this is not their professional area and they are already burdened with their core duties,” she added. - Mkini
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