KUALA LUMPUR, July 31 — The All Women’s Action Society (AWAM) today condemned the remarks made by PKR Senator Mohd Imran Abd Hamid who proposed the enactment of sexual harassment law to protect men from being seduced into committing sexually related crimes.
Earlier today, Mohd Imran had proposed such laws in the Dewan Negara, stating that men needed to be protected from women who could potentially seduce them to commit sexual crimes such as rape, sexual harassment or molestation.
“It is unacceptable for the senator to place the blame of rape, molestation, incest, porn and otherwise on the victim. After all, it is the perpetrator who must take responsibility for their own actions. The idea that victims are unable to access justice or demand some form of redress after undergoing such a dehumanising experience simply adds to the creation of a culture of fear and violence.
“Underlying all of this is the assumption that gender-based violence stems from desire or lust. However, such violence is never about desire or lust. It is about power and objectification. There are many accounts where sexual harassment has taken place between to heterosexual people of the same sex — and this just goes to show that it is not about sex, it is about power, control and saying that ‘I can do this to you,” AWAM said.
The women’s rights group pointed out that moral policing has not worked — and that is expected because the choice of clothing is not the reason why children are molested, or why people rape.
“It is the power, privilege and permission given by society when the people in charge fail to properly address the violence when rapists go free or marry their victims when children are sold into marriage to ease the family’s financial burdens,” said AWAM.
