Stop moral policing of girls and women: Roshika Deo

We need to stop the moral policing of girls and women, says Coordinator of One Billion Rising Pacific, Roshika Deo.

“At schools, girls are forced to wear another layer of clothing under their school dresses. This should be a choice left to the girls instead of body policing girls and shaming them,” she said.

“These things, which may seem benign, are actually what lead to rape culture, which creates the environment for sexual violence to happen.

“The other thing we see commonly is when certain male relatives/friends visit we tell our girls to change into something more conservative.

“We need to think deeply about why we are doing this. Is it because our instinct tells us these male relatives are not to be trusted? Are these male relatives sexualizing your girl child? If we don’t trust these men why are we entertaining them and creating an unsafe place for our children in their own homes? What message are we sending to our children? Are we telling young girls their bodies are a sexual object? Are we telling them rape is about one’s clothes? Are we placing the blame and responsibility on them from a young age?

“We often wonder why rape continues and why has change not happened. It’s because we have not changed yet.”

Ms Deo said rapists barely received the full brunt of the sentence. She added more could be done within the justice sector.

“We need to start a nationwide campaign on consent, rape culture and male entitlement to be able to prevent sexual violence,” he said.

“Our justice process is slow, tedious, and onerous. It takes a toll on girls, LGBTQI and women who have been violated.

“Due to the patriarchal nature of our families and communities, women and girls are unable to access the justice system or are prevented from accessing it. We need to dismantle the patriarchal structures and culture in order for girls, women, boys and LGBTQI people to be able to share their experiences and seek justice.”

Ms Deo said there’s a need for trained trauma psychologists who could provide long term healing and support.

One Billion Rising is a mass action to end violence against women. The campaign, launched on Valentines Day 2012, began as a call to action based on the staggering statistic that one in three women on the planet will be beaten or raped during her lifetime.

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