UNIVERSITIES seem to have become fertile hunting grounds for sexual predators these days, as evident in the latest news about a foundation lecturer teaching at a Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) campus in Selangor.
According to news reports, the lecturer, who is in his 30s, has been accused of sexual grooming and harassment by his former students. In an article reported by online news portal SAYS, over 15 of his former students have come forward with such allegations.
And the most appalling thing? He is still teaching at the university.
UiTM has recently lodged a police report and a complaint with the Malaysian
Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) over these allegations, which have gone viral on social media recently, but the Higher Education Ministry (MOHE) has been strangely silent over this matter.
But what is equally as unnerving is the less-than-satisfactory course of action taken by the authorities in most sexual harassment-related cases.
In the case of Universiti Malaya (UM) Soleil Ching, for example, the student recently sought to file a civil suit against an associated professor who sexually harassed her two years ago.
The decision came after the university’s Integrity Unit had failed to reveal the punishment meted out against the culprit, while the police had stopped pursuing the matter on grounds that the perpetrator, who had since retired, had faced disciplinary action.
If anything, this speaks volumes about the current system that we have in place. In fact, perhaps it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that it is the lack of a proper system that has empowered the perpetrators all these years.
Take the case of Soleil Ching as an example. The perpetrator – an associate professor, of all things! – was able to avoid prosecution with nothing more than a slap on the wrist and his reputation dinged but mostly intact, while the victim is left with psychological scars for the rest of her life.
The same can be said for the 15 (or more) victims of the UiTM lecturer, if no justice is served and no appropriate action is taken to stop such abuse from happening again in the future.
In this case, perhaps the existing system would benefit from a thorough overhaul. Do better jobs at background checks, have a registry to keep track of those with a history of abuse, and conduct the necessary psychological evaluations – do anything but keep quiet.
While these are not perfect solutions, it’s certainly a start to keep the shady characters out of campus and away from students. After all, schools need to be safe places for students to learn, not hunting grounds for sexual predators. – June 27, 2021
Photo credit: Malaysiakini
