We, the undersigned civil society organisations and concerned individuals, express our deep shock, grief, and outrage at the 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 Melaka, 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.
Normalisation Of Harmful Patriarchal Masculinity
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 (MOE) 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 said 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.
Accountability, Rehabilitation Must Go Hand In Hand With Protection And Justice
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 (CRC) 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 co-exist 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.
Secondly, 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 examinations – 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 examinations in a place of detention outside of their school environment.
Due Process Must Be Upheld For All Minors
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.
Must Confront And Overcome Profound Systemic Failures
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 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.
This statement is endorsed by Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) member organisations:
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:
16. Voice of the Children
17. CRIB Foundation (Child Rights Innovation & Betterment)
18. Protect and Save the Children
19. End CSEC Network
20. Equal Wings
21. ENGENDER
22. Johor Women’s League (JEWEL)
Other civil society organisations:
23. Martabat Untuk Semua Petaling Jaya
24. Jaringan Kampung Orang Asli Semenanjung Malaysia (JKOASM)
25. Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia (JOAS)
26. Pertubuhan Jaringan Kebajikan Komuniti (JEJAKA)
27. HAYAT
28. SIUMAN Collective
29. UCSI College
30. The OKU Rights Matter Project
31. Development of Human Resources for Rural Areas (DHRRA)
32. SEED Malaysia
33. PLUHO (People Like Us Hang Out!)
34. Life Under Umbrella
35. Pertubuhan Pembangunan Kendiri Wanita dan Gadis (WOMEN:girls)
36. Malaysian Women’s Action for Tobacco Control and Health (MyWATCH)
37. Orphancare Foundation
38. National Human Rights Society (HAKAM)
39. Community Action Nexus Berhad
40. Legal Dignity
41. Aliran
42. Kolektif Feminis Malaysia
43. Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ)
44. Society for the Promotion of Human Rights (PROHAM)
45. Malaysian Collaborative Practice Group (MCPG)
46. Village Vision
47. Women for Equality Association
48. Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)
49. Reproductive Health Association of Kelantan (ReHAK)
50. Kita Family Podcast
Individuals:
51. Mary Shanthi Dairiam, Former UN CEDAW Committee Member
52. Dr Amar-Singh HSS, Consultant Paediatrician, Child and Disability Activist
53. Ivy Josiah, Gender Consultant
54. Yuenwah San, Disability Rights and Intersectionality Advocate
55. Hasbeemasputra Abu Baker, Disabled Human Rights Defender
56. Noor Yasmin Abdul Karim, President, CBR Network Malaysia
57. Rizlan Ghazali, Lawyer, NGI
- This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Ova.
