According to an article on The Rakyat Post, the Malaysian Penal Code (Act 574), Section 375, states that the age of consent to have sex in Malaysia is 16 years old. But, the Sexual Offenses Against Children Act of 2017 states that any sexual conduct with a minor or child below the age of 18 is illegal and is deemed as a sexual offence. In 2020, it was found that 90% of sexual assaults in Selangor itself involve underaged girls. The police stated that most of the victims were approached through the Internet and eventually groomed to have sex with the offenders.
Following that, what is a coerced sexual contract? This is something we don’t often talk about. Any persistent persuasion, threats, guilt trips, or using drugs and alcohol that are intended for you to give in counts as coercion.
The reason why sexual coercion is one of the worst could mainly be because the offender can say “But they said yes!” More than often victims are manipulated until they don’t even realise they’ve been assaulted. But as mentioned before, sexual consent must be expressed voluntarily, you can also read this article written by a fellow Taylor’s University student about sexual harassment.
Some examples of sexual coercion are:
“You would do it for me if you love me”, “You should be grateful I’m with you, I could sleep with anyone anytime”, “You must be cheating on me seeing how you’re refusing to do it with me”.
There are more examples you can find in this article.
To top it off, many are reluctant to speak up due to fear of being stigmatised. In Malaysia, talks of sexual consent and harassment are typically a taboo topic and victim-blaming isn’t uncommon in the community.
I was baffled when a brave student exposed her school teacher’s inappropriate rape jokes, was slammed with a RM1mil lawsuit. She was also cyberbullied a lot when the #MakeSchoolASaferPlace hashtag started trending as people were siding with the teacher, “It's just a joke”. Perhaps this is the reason why a lot of sexual assault victims don’t speak up to those in power and authority. Sometimes, the victims are put at fault instead.
One of the YouTube videos I’ve watched and will never forget is about a former air stewardess who was raped in her apartment building and was blamed for what she wore and not praying enough. It was pure devastation for me, I can’t imagine how hard it is for her. It shows that Malaysia has a long way to go when it comes to consent and awareness about sexual harassment.
