When schools become crime scenes: Why Malaysia must act now on child safety

We, the undersigned civil society organisations and concerned individuals, express our deep shock, grief and outrage at recent reports of brutal violence involving schoolchildren in Malaysia – including the alleged gang rape of a 15-year-old girl by four 17-year-old schoolboys in Malacca, and the tragic alleged murder of another 16-year-old girl student by a younger male schoolmate in a separate incident.

These crimes are devastating violations of human life, dignity and the safety of our schools.

We extend our heartfelt solidarity to the victims, their families and all those affected by these heartbreaking acts.

As extreme forms of gender-based violence committed within the school environment, these acts understandably test the limits of our collective commitment to protecting the young.

They also expose deeper societal failures in the way our children have been socialised – particularly the normalisation of harmful patriarchal masculinity that has culminated in alleged rape and murder.

These incidents are but the most recent in a long list of heated controversies – including the Zara Qairina bullying case and the Ministry of Education’s reference to gang rape as “sexual misconduct” – yet there appears to be little systemic and meaningful change in the MoE and the education system.

Enough is enough. We strongly urge the authorities to ensure:

• Immediate, thorough and child-sensitive investigations, both in the criminal justice system on the alleged offences, as well as by the MoE as to the failures in the school systems and safety policies which enabled the violent attacks to take place
• That the MoE investigations on school safety be made public
• Full legal accountability for all perpetrators
• Holistic support for victim-survivors and other students directly affected by the crisis, including medical care, psychological first aid and immediate crisis response, psychosocial support, and safe reintegration into school and society

Much as we are deeply shaken and horrified by these violent acts, we are still a society committed to upholding basic human rights for all, especially children. Thus, a delicate and critical balancing of fundamental rights must take place in at least two ways.

First, we emphasise that the rights of children in conflict with the law must be respected. International human rights standards, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Malaysia is a party, require that children suspected or accused of crimes be treated with dignity, given access to a fair trial, and offered opportunities for rehabilitation.

However, these protections must coexist with a clear, uncompromising commitment to the safety, recovery and dignity of victim-survivors. These rights must never be used to minimise the gravity of gender-based violence or to silence victim-survivors. Accountability and rehabilitation must go hand-in-hand with protection and justice for victim-survivors.

Second, we must remind ourselves that the right to education of any child – including the right of a child in conflict with the law to sit for public exams – must not be denied arbitrarily. Such decisions should be guided by clear, professional risk assessments, not public anger nor the presumption that things should continue as normal. The safety and wellbeing of victim-survivors and other students must take utmost priority. We believe that there are practical ways forward that could balance both sets of rights and priorities, such as allowing the boys to sit for public exams in a place of detention outside of their school environment.

Above all, privacy, dignity and due process must be upheld for all minors involved – victims and suspects alike.

In this regard, we urge the media, authorities and the public to act with caution and sensitivity. Labelling minors as “mentally ill” or linking their actions to disability is harmful, stigmatising, and often inaccurate; it shifts attention away from accountability and the underlying causes of violence. Sharing names, images or details of investigations without consent violates child protection laws, breaches the children’s rights, and causes further harm. Protecting the children’s identities and the integrity of investigations must never be sacrificed in favour of public curiosity or sensationalism.

Let these terrible incidents be a turning point – never again under any circumstances should this happen.

We call on the MoE, law enforcement and child protection agencies to:

• Establish stronger accessible, transparent and child-centred school-based reporting and safety mechanisms with immediate effect, including having clear child safeguarding and protection policies and procedures, with zero tolerance for abuse and severe consequences for violations, and appropriate training for all teachers and staff
• Ensure that trauma-informed, restorative approaches to child justice are in place – this includes balancing accountability with rehabilitation, and strengthening interagency child protection case management systems and services with qualified, competent and experienced child protectors
• Strengthen preventive education on gender-based violence, consent and respect, including eradicating toxic masculinities that drive violence, and ensuring continuous, age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education starting in primary schools
• Scale up mental health support measures for all students, particularly those directly affected by this crisis

These measures should also be appropriately extended to all formal and informal learning facilities, such as learning centres, and be inclusive of diverse communities, including the disabled and marginalised.

Justice must be done, and it must be done fairly, in a way that protects all children and upholds the rule of law.

We must confront and overcome the profound systemic failures that have enabled such violence to occur, and restore trust in our schools as spaces of learning and safety. – JAG

Endorsed by:

Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) member organisations

1. 1. Women’s Centre for Change, Penang (WCC)
   2. Autism Inclusiveness Direct Action Group (Aida)
   3. Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO)
   4. Association of Women Lawyers (AWL)
   5. SIS Forum Malaysia (SIS)
   6. Justice for Sisters
   7. Sarawak Women for Women Society (SWWS)
   8. All Women’s Action Society (Awam)
   9. Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor (Empower)
   10. Perak Women for Women Society (PWW)
   11. Tenaganita
   12. Kryss Network
   13. Sabah Women’s Action Resources Group (SAWO)
   14. Family Frontiers
   15. Persatuan Sahabat Wanita Selangor (PSWS)

Sexual Offences Against Children and Evidence of Child Witness Act (SOAC & ECWA) Advocacy Group member organisations

1. Voice of The Children
2. Crib Foundation (Child Rights Innovation and Betterment)
3. Protect and Save the Children
4. End CSEC Network
5. Equal Wings
6. Engender
7. Johor Women’s League (Jewel)

Other civil society organisations

1. Martabat Untuk Semua Petaling Jaya
2. Jaringan Kampung Orang Asli Semenanjung Malaysia (JKOASM)
3. Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia (JOAS)
4. Pertubuhan Jaringan Kebajikan Komuniti (Jejaka)
5. Hayat
6. Siuman Collective
7. UCSI College
8. The OKU Rights Matter Project
9. Development of Human Resources for Rural Areas (DHRRA)
10. Seed Malaysia
11. Pluho (People Like Us Hang Out!)
12. Life Under Umbrella
13. Pertubuhan Pembangunan Kendiri Wanita dan Gadis (WOMEN:girls)
14. Malaysian Women’s Action for Tobacco Control and Health (Mywatch)
15. Orphancare Foundation
16. National Human Rights Society (Hakam)
17. Community Action Nexus Berhad
18. Legal Dignity
19. Aliran
20. Kolektif Feminis Malaysia
21. Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ)
22. Society for the Promotion of Human Rights (Proham)
23. Malaysian Collaborative Practice Group (MCPG)
24. Village Vision
25. Women for Equality Association
26. Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram)
27. Reproductive Health Association of Kelantan (ReHAK)
28. Kita Family Podcast

Individuals

• Mary Shanthi Dairiam, former UN Cedaw committee member
• Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS, consultant paediatrician, child and disability activist
• Ivy Josiah, gender consultant
• Yuenwah San, disability rights and intersectionality advocate
• Hasbeemasputra Abu Baker, disabled human rights defender
• Noor Yasmin Abdul Karim, president, CBR Network Malaysia
• Rizlan Ghazali, lawyer, NGI

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