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New Post has been published on http://www.therakyatpost.com/news/2014/09/28/teens-aged-12-16-make-rape-victims-penang/

Teens aged 12 to 16 make up most of rape victims in Penang

GEORGE TOWN, Sept 28, 2014:

Girls aged between 12 and 16 make up a large portion of rape victims in Penang, although the percentage of cases showed a drop each year.

Penang police deputy chief Datuk A. Thaiveegan said statistics revealed that between 65% and 75% of the victims were aged below 18, and most were still schooling.

Of this percentage, 50-70% of victims were aged between 12 and 16.

He said statistics also showed that of the rape cases investigated, only 10-14% of the suspects involved those who were complete strangers to the victims.

“This means that almost 90% of rapists were known to the victims.

“Investigations showed that the suspects were those in the victim’s circle, such as family members, boyfriends or acquaintances.

“Studies showed that more often than not, a victim’s boyfriend was involved in such cases.

“Every year, this group is the highest contributor, with between 35% and 47% of the overall number of cases,” he said in an opening speech at a seminar called “Teenagers and Free Sex: Effect and Consequences” here yesterday.

The one-day seminar was organised by Penang police’s Sexual, Women and Child Investigation Division (D11), with assistance from Universiti Sains Malaysia’s School of Social Sciences and the Penang Education Department.

It was attended by policemen, teachers, students, university students and civil servants.

The seminar aims to give awareness to teenagers on the effects of free sex, educate them to stay away from free sex and expose the community to the importance of having the skills to approach and teach teenagers.

There were 146 rape cases in 2010, 142 in 2011, 121 in 2012, 116 in 2013, and 62 cases from January to August this year.

He said increasing awareness among teenagers on the issue had contributed to a reduction in rape cases in the state.

Teachers and parents had also played an important role in placing emphasis on religious education to discourage rape, he added.

“Despite the drop, there are still rape cases and this worries us.

“Therefore, we need to continue addressing the matter. We will always prioritise the education of teens and women.

“After this, we might have a seminar, specifically for men, so that they respect and appreciate women more.”

Thaiveegan said between January and August this year, the breakdown of cases, according to race, showed Malays had the most number of victims at 38, followed by the Chinese (9), other races (8) and Indians (7).