Singapore Government Media Release
Media Division, Ministry of Information and The Arts,
140 Hill Street #02-02 MITA Building, Singapore 179369.
Tel: 837 9666
___________________________________________________________

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am happy to be invited here to launch AWARE’s book on "Rape: Weapon of Terror". In a sense, this has been a long-awaited book. Congratulations on its final publication! It is also fitting that the launch of the book is taking place today: November 25 is the United Nations International Day Against Violence Against Women.

Most of us will recall that soon after the May 1998 riots in Jakarta, AWARE organised a petition to protest against what appeared to be systematic violence against women during the riots, as well as put up an exhibition on mass rape which had taken place in various parts of the world in the past. This was to raise public awareness of the cruelties and injustices done to women during periods of war or internal conflicts, and hopefully, through the outcry and concerted efforts of the international community, put a stop to such violence in future.

This book is a direct outcome of the conviction and perseverance of members of AWARE and their associates who are concerned over this issue of war crimes against women. Such crimes have occurred at various times in different regions of the world, in Asia, Africa, Europe and beyond. The atrocities had been recounted by witnesses and survivors. However, it is extremely difficult to document such events, not the least because the victims often do not want to talk about the trauma they went through. This is the case even where the victims are isolated cases of individuals, how much more difficult it is to document comprehensively episodes where rape occurs on a mass scale, and proof of its systematic nature is often based on a deciphering of patterns among occurrences. The main author of this book has done her best to cull from existing published sources to inform readers of such episodes.

That everyone in the civilised world should abhor such kinds of violence against any member of humanity is evident. What we can all do about it is, however, not so simple. First, it calls for a concerted effort among nations to put a stop to this form of violence. The international community, through the efforts of the NGOs, has made a beginning by calling for the recognition of mass rape as a form of crime against humanity. Second, some of this takes place within national boundaries, where there is internal battle between different ethnic or political groups, or where a government inflicts violence against a segment of its own population. How the international community, as outsiders, can intervene is a very difficult question. Third, violence against women in times of war is rooted in strongly held cultural beliefs and attitudes towards women as being in men’s possession , and for that matter, these beliefs and attitudes also underlie domestic violence against women in times of peace. The beginning chapters of this book have succinctly discussed this root cause. The question is what should be done about this and how.

Women and children are easy targets in times of conflict. This is so, not only because they are physically weaker, but also because, striking at them, you are also striking at the very heart and hearth of the men. Take their women away, humiliate them, you are also humiliating the men’s honour. Kill their women, and you are destroying the fabric of their communities. This is what gives the issue of mass rape, as happened only as recently as in Bosnia, a unique dimension to the anatomy of war. It is not a question of whether more men are killed, or more women are, during times of war. Of course, men are killed too, both soldiers and civilians; men are also maimed and tortured. But in mass rape, women are used as weapons to humiliate and to terrorise whole communities.

However, the solution to the above does not lie in making women equal to men, or independent of men. The solution can only come if we condemn violence itself.

Hence, whatever action to contain violence in this world is worthy of our support. In this connection, I commend AWARE for forming a Women and Safety Committee, to study what it can do further to help reduce violence against women in society.

I also appreciate what AWARE has been doing to help change social attitudes and stereotypical views of women. However, this will take a long time, even as more and more women are receiving higher education and entering the workforce. AWARE can definitely help hasten this process. Nevertheless, tactics and presentation matter.

As you know, the Ministry of Education has recently launched a programme on sexuality education. Adding on to the existing approach of teaching the subject in some of the core curriculum, such as in Health Education, Moral Education and Science, we have come up with a complementary, and more integrated package called the Growing Years Series. This package is a multi-media package that comprises a VCD, a CD-ROM and a Teacher’s Resource file. (The VCD presents short dramas centred on key issues and concerns of our pupils regarding sexuality and responsibility. The CD-ROM expands on these issues by directing the students to think through the wider implications and consequences based on some facts and information. The Teacher’s Resource helps teachers to facilitate discussions following the viewing of the VCD.) A developmental approach is adopted to target the unique concerns and needs of the students at four critical growth stages, from upper primary, to lower secondary, upper secondary and post-secondary levels. The first of the series, for lower secondary students, has just been released. We have received very positive feedback from teachers, parents and students alike. This package addresses the adolescents’ needs, and helps the teachers to address such needs.

Beyond dealing with questions of sex and sexuality, our approach is to reinforce the teaching of core values rooted in the family: responsibility, choice, commitment, and respect for self and others. We teach the boys and girls the same set of values; both the boys and girls are guided to build responsible and rewarding relationships, to recognise their own self-worth and resist peer pressure. They are taught not to be dictated to by the stereotypical portrayals of the genders by pop culture, the media, advertisements and so on.

AWARE’s President took issue with some aspects of the CD-ROM. Fair enough, we cannot produce a perfect score. However, I regret the strong language she used, and that got reported in the foreign press as well. I think she has done great injustice to the Ministry’s intentions and execution of the project. (She was reported to say that the "segment which urges girls not to have sex before marriage and likens virginity in girls to magazines that are sealed within plastic covers" as a "discriminatory message", one that "reduces to abjection the measure of self-worth and erases any cultural advancement made by humankind in the last century." (Straits Times, 21 October, "Messages are sexist, says Aware president") The fact is, we emphasize to both boys and girls the value of self-control, respect for the other person and the implications of premarital sex. Even as ( not if) we used the same analogy of the magazine for both boys and girls in teaching virginity , mothers of daughters would know, from common sense and sensibility, that girls are more at risk or are much more disadvantaged by a teenage pregnancy; and they will be more protective of them.

I would welcome a more balanced view of the merits of our sexuality education programme in its entire context. As someone who is equally concerned over women’s issues, I would welcome more regular dialogues with women’s organisations on their needs and suggestions. Together with Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, Mrs Lim Hwee Hua and Dr Lily Neo, the four of us elected women MPs will be conducting a series of discussions with various women’s organisations. This is an opportune time for us to put our hearts and minds together to make a difference to the way such issues as family-work balance are addressed in Singapore society. Women can make a difference to how this and other women’s issues are tackled; in turn, these will produce significant impacts on women’s roles in society, their status and contributions.

Thank you.

************