In light of the recent controversy brought about by a local actor’s off-handed jokes on the subject of rape on live television, many local personalities including national diver Datuk Pandalela Rinong have since come forward to speak out against the act. And with good reason, too. Rape jokes don’t simply trivialise an incredibly traumatic act of assault, but may in fact normalise the behaviour over time.
It all started with lewd jokes before it escalated
Responding to the latest controversy, national diver and Olympian Datuk Pandalela has taken to Twitter to shed light on her own personal experience with ‘locker room humour’. The perpetrator, whom she identified as a former coach, had a tendency to enjoy lewd humour.
“I used to have a coach who enjoyed making lewd jokes. I used to stay silent and fake laugh as I was afraid of him. There was one instance when I couldn’t help but chide him for his jokes, but was in return bullied. Seven years later, he committed rape.” she wrote.
Those in positions of leadership chose to turn a blind eye
What made the situation all the more complicated was that throughout the seven years that she had known the coach, he would cause problems every year. Despite that, these incidents would never make light of day as the coach was allegedly protected by the head coach of her team. Shielded by a system that silenced any dissent, the coach’s behaviour would go unchecked until it resulted in an alleged sexual assault case.
While Datuk Pandalela expressed her gratitude for her sports association that had protected her from these incidents, she has encouraged those in positions of leadership to call out these behaviours, instead of simply turning a blind eye. The Olympian also called upon those who have been on the receiving end of abuse to speak up, no matter how small their voices may seem.
As it stands, rape jokes should never be tolerated regardless of circumstance, as they continue to perpetuate an all-too callous regard for the severity of sexual assault and the trauma that it leaves with its victims, regardless of age or gender.
Rape jokes made by local actor prompted community backlash
The controversy surrounding rape jokes started when local actor Fauzi Nawawi expressed how he ‘enjoyed’ filming a rape scene for his 2007 film Anak Halal, which was deleted from the movie. In what amounted to locker-room humour between the hosts and the actor himself during a chat show on Astro Warna, Fauzi went so far as to say that he feels ‘more excited’ to film a rape scene when people tell him that he resembles a rapist.
33-year-old actress Raja Farah Aziz who co-starred in the film with Fauzi during the rape scene had slammed his remarks from the talk show, saying that she felt ‘vulnerable and disrespected’ by what was discussed on-air, reports Malay Mail.
Fauzi and Astro have since issued public apologies over the incident.
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Also read: Nur Sajat speaks with New York Times, alleges being molested by religious officials
