Bring rapists to justice
Rape can never be condoned. Rape suspects may be given the benefit of the doubt and deemed innocent until proven otherwise, but the crime itself cannot be tolerated. The alleged rape case in the northeastern province of Mukdahan carried several shocking elements.
It was reported as a gang rape. One victim is a 14-year-old school girl. The suspects include five teachers and two alumni while the rapes allegedly took place within the school’s premises on several occasions.
Police pressed charges against the seven suspects earlier this week. All of them denied the charges and requested bail, which was granted.
The provincial education authorities dismissed the five teachers and set up a disciplinary investigation.
The police are widening the investigation as another student, a 16-year-old, said she had been raped by some of the suspects as well. The 16-year-old is also a witness in the first case.
What could be just as disturbing as the alleged rape of underaged students by their own teachers are the reactions from the suspects’ peers, parents and netizens who seem to be acting like judges of character, while casually writing the crimes off as temporary “lapses of judgement”.
Some of the statements are distressing.
A female Facebook user reported to be a teacher at the same school said she was not ashamed of the suspects.
She said the rape suspects are her juniors who are good at their jobs, and they are kind-hearted and have done a lot for society and other people.
She said what happened was caused by a lapse of judgement.
A village headman said he felt bad that the five teachers had been dismissed because they had contributed positively to the school and were “highly responsible”.
Another netizen who described himself as a fellow teacher gave moral support to the rape suspects.
The Facebook user not only questioned whether the alleged rapes were consensual but also tried to blame the victims, saying the young students were ungrateful to have reported the rapes as male teachers are human too.
He also wrote that if female students do not want to be raped, they should not go to school.
That this kind of irresponsible comment and attitude could come from a teacher who is also confident enough to share them with the public is most disconcerting.
The victims in this case are underaged school girls. Consent has nothing to do with the allegations.
Shifting the blame does not lessen the alleged crime either. The attitude, an undesirable remnant of Thailand’s patriarchal society, has no place in an inclusive, modern society that the country aspires to have. It’s irresponsible and repugnant, even more so considering it could have come from a teacher whose job it is to impart good morals to youngsters.
Even if the comment was not made by a real teacher but a social media troll looking to provoke, it is still extremely irresponsible and inappropriate for anybody to do so.
The posts have brought to light an extremely harmful attitude. That they were also popular, drawing several thousand comments and reactions, is deeply regrettable.
Rape is a serious and hideous crime. Perpetrators must be brought to justice and punished according to the law. It’s not something to be taken lightly.