School violence: Groups urge victims, suspects rights to be upheld

Over 57 groups and individuals have urged the authorities to handle crimes involving children tactfully amid the recent high-profile cases in schools.

While acknowledging that Malaysians are horrified by the crimes, they noted that the country is a signatory to several international human rights agreements, including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

“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,” said the signatories of a joint statement today.

Among them were the Women’s Aid Organisation, SIS Forum Malaysia, All Women’s Action Society, and Aliran.

Two days ago, a 16-year-old female student died after allegedly being stabbed by a 14-year-old male student at a school in Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya.

The alleged assailant had also attacked other classmates before being apprehended by the police. He is currently held under remand.

The case came barely two weeks after another disturbing incident in Malacca, where four teenagers were arrested over an alleged rape of a Form Three student in a classroom on Oct 2.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers is expected to charge the teenagers today.

Balancing act

On that note, the signatories urged the authorities to treat the children accused of the crimes with dignity, to give them access to a fair trial, and to offer opportunities for rehabilitation.

However, they stressed these protections must co-exist with a clear, uncompromising commitment to the safety, recovery, and dignity of their victims or 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,” they stressed.

They also urged the authorities not to deny any children their right to education, including the right to sit for public examinations.

“Such decisions should be guided by clear, professional risk assessments, not public anger nor the presumption that things should continue as normal,” they added.

They believe there are ways for the rights of survivors and suspects to be balanced by allowing the suspects to sit for their exams outside of school, such as in detention.

Measures to protect schoolchildren

They also urged Putrajaya to address violence in schools by:

• Establishing 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 consequences for violations.

• Ensuring that trauma-informed, restorative approaches to child justice are in place, which includes balancing accountability with rehabilitation, and strengthening interagency child protection case management systems and services with qualified, competent, and experienced child protectors.

• Strengthening 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.

They said the measures should be extended to all learning facilities, formal and informal, and include the disabled and marginalised communities.

“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.”

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