A rape joke is definitely not funny. Given the right circumstances, the person making the rape joke can be hauled to court by the "victim" of the "joke" for the tort of sexual harassment.
In addition, he could also be charged by the public prosecutor with criminal intimidation or insulting the modesty of a person under Sections 503 and 509 of the Penal Code, respectively.
If a "rape threat" is uttered by a male teacher and directed to a female student (or a group of female students) and the school authorities (or other enforcement authorities) later try to dismiss the student's complaint as merely a "joke", which the victim should have "accepted as normal", then something is fundamentally wrong with our education system.
It could be due to two reasons — plain ignorance of the law (on sexual harassment or privacy) or something more serious and deep-seated than that. The former can be addressed through education and awareness, but the latter needs counselling and therapy.
I came across the following sick rape joke some time ago in an overseas portal. Comedian Daniel Tosh was trying hard to entertain his audience at a comedy club in Hollywood by making lewd jokes.
When a woman stood up to complain, the comedian said to the male group in the crowd: "Would it not be funny if five of you guys rape this woman? Yeah, won't that be funny?" and the male crowd laughed. The woman and her friends later left the hall.
I was reminded of it a couple days ago when I read about the painful experience of a 17-year-old Malaysian schoolgirl who told her father (who subsequently made a complaint to the school authorities) that her male teacher had made a series of rape jokes while discussing the subject of sexual harassment.
In her posting on social media, the girl said that her teacher had been explaining sexual harassment to the class before the conversation turned into jokes that became "weirder and lewd".
The discusssion had been on "how there are a lot of laws protecting minors from sexual abuse or sexual harassment", when the teacher then allegedly said: "If you (students) want to rape, don't rape someone under 18. Rape someone over 18." She said the girls in her class were shocked to hear the joke, but the boys in her class were laughing.
According to the girl, the teacher had also allegedly said that, "The boys who were raped did not report it because it felt good". Distressed by the teacher's remarks, the student then informed (via a text message) the school's counsellor.
The latter apologised for the teacher's action, but also said that it was "normal" for male teenagers (students) to make such crude remarks in jest. "Female teenage students, however, are a bit sensitive and emotional, and that, too, is natural," said the counsellor to her.
A women's non-governmental organisation (the All Women's Action Society) found the episode absolutely "unacceptable" and condemned teachers who have "this rape-supportive mindset".
The incident has now escalated into a police case. Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said the police had begun their investigation and "are taking statements from everyone who was at the scene of the incident".
Statements will be taken from the 17-year-old student and other students, as well as the teacher who allegedly uttered the rape joke before the matter was
handed over to the Attorney-General's Chambers.
The incident also caught the attention of Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin, housing and local government minister cum founder and president of Council of Malaysian Women Political Leaders, who said: "We are against gender discrimination and sexual harassment in all forms. Women and girls, as well as men and boys who are subjected to it have the right to voice out and do not have to be silent victims."
Stressing that "rape can never be a joking matter", she advised teachers to "observe boundaries with students and not subject them to unnecessary, embarrassing situations with distasteful jokes".
What worries me is that according to former education minister, Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid, the incident reported by the student "cannot be considered an isolated case". So, is it the tip of an iceberg?
The writer was formerly a Federal Counsel at the Attorney-General's Chambers and a Visiting Professor at UTM, Skudai. He is now a full-time consultant, trainer and author
