feature For each rape reported, nine are not. So although the official figure of reported rape cases in 1998 is 1,419, incidents of rape in actuality may come up to 14,419, according to The Rape Report - an overview of rape in Malaysia.

Rape is on the rise. The table below shows the increasing numbers. In 1991 it was an average of two cases per day. In 1995 it was three. And today it's four.

Some may argue this 'increase' suggests heightened awareness with regard to the offence of rape - as more people lodge a report - hence it does not give a true picture of the situation.

But more importantly, these figures beg the questions as to why so many rape cases go unreported and why so many more go unpunished.

Two reasons for discrepancies

There are two main reasons for the discrepancies between the actual incidence of rape in the country and the numbers of rape cases shown by official statistics.

First, some cases involving rape are not classified as rape. For example, cases in which the victim is raped then murdered this is classified as homicide.

Rape within marriages is also not shown in official statistics because the law does not recognise the concept of marital rape.

Second, many rape victims do not report the rape.

And one reason rape victims shy away from reporting to the authorities is the fear they may be blamed for 'asking for it'.

In a comment over a gang-rape on a 15-year-old school girl, Malaysian Society for Clinical Hypnosis adviser Dr M Mahadevan said, "The victim is at fault. Agreeing to meet someone without knowing the history and background of the person is equivalent to courting trouble..."

The girl had meet one of the perpetrators of the crime through the Internet.

However, one would think that a person with Mahadevan's standing would know better than to make a such a remark.

He is not the only one to shoot from the hip. Former judge Harun Hashim, in an article in the New Straits Times, said some women are more deserving of being raped than others e.g. a prostitute compared with an innocent a schoolgirl who is well-behaved, good in her studies and a virgin.

Another reason rape victims sometimes decide not to report the crime is fear of being stigmatised by their communities.

Worse still, in some cases the rape is 'resolved' by the victim marrying the rapist, and a report of the rape is not lodged. This practice, 'popularised' in many Indian movies especially, must not be condoned. Rapists are the perpetrators of a heinous crime. Their sole purpose is to demean their victims.

Also mostly unreported is incestuous rape. Child victims may not know that they have been wronged. It is then unsurprising that many cases may go unreported, while others are only discovered or reported when the victim becomes pregnant.

Not an impulsive crime

The 21st century began for Malaysians with the molest and murder of a five-year-old child, Siti Nadira Budah; the brutal gang-rape of an eight-year-old girl; and yet another rape and drowning of a girl child in a water tank

It would not be an exaggeration to conclude that rape has reached epidemic proportions in Malaysia.

Despite repeated outrage following these brutalities, our streets remain unsafe as little is done by the authorities to make them otherwise.

Rape is not an overspill of sexual energy. It is not an impulsive crime. Studies show that up to 71 percent of rapes are either wholly or partly planned. Rapists usually make 'overt and deliberate' decision to rape rather than being driven by uncontrollable motivations brought on by 'an over-exposed cleavage'.

Contrary to popular belief sexual desire is not the primary motivation for rape. Rape is about hostility and control. The rapist wants to overpower his victims and force them to submit.

Official case studies in Malaysia showed that most rapists are men who showed no signs of being mentally sick.

And 84 percent of rapes were committed by someone known to the survivor such as acquaintances, 'friends' and relatives. And the location of the rape is usually a 'safe place' such as a house or a building.

Legal definition

Legally, rape is limited to the insertion of the penis into your vagina against your will. If you are under 16 years of age, sex with or without your consent is rape. And sexual assault includes forced anal sex, insertion of objects into vagina, mouth or anus.

However, the true definition of rape is not static. It changes from country to country and culture to culture. Some countries recognise the concept of marital rape - forced sex within marriage - and legislate against it. Other countries do not.

Some countries, Malaysia among them, narrowly define rape as the penile penetration of the vagina. Other countries have a broader definition where rape encompasses penile penetration of the anus and mouth and the use of objects (e.g. stick) to penetrate the vagina or anus.

To complicate matters, within a country, different sectors society also have different ideas or definitions of rape. Since the mid-1980s, women's organisation in the country have lobbied for a wider definition of rape. Some amendments were made in 1989 such as imposing a mandatory jail sentence and prohibiting the raising of the rape victim's sexual history.

But the law still fails to recognise marital rape even though society is waking up to the fact. Results from a newspaper poll found that a majority of women respondents (84 percent) viewed rape within marriage as a serious crime. Up to 60 percent of the men held the same view.

Living with rape

According to a sociologist: "The social meaning of rape is very different from assault. While both assault and rape are basically acts of aggression and hostility, sexual assault or rape is total attack against the whole person. Affecting the victims's physical, psychological and social identity."

Rape victims suffer trauma, shock, physical injuries and sexually transmitted diseases or even pregnancy.

And the effects of rape are not temporary, lasting a few days, weeks or months; they can be felt many years afterwards and can last a lifetime.

PRASANA CHANDRAN is a member of the malaysiakini team. This is the first article in a series to highlight the issue of 'Violence Against Women' in conjunction with International Day Against Violence Against Women on Nov 25.

A 16-day campaign all around the world to raise awareness of all forms of violence against women in their communities, ended on Dec 10.