S'pore police to be more sensitive approaching sexual assault crime talk with teens

Moving forward.

Belmont Lay | January 23, 2017, 04:17 PM

During a crime-prevention talk for Secondary 2 students at the School of the Arts on Monday, Jan. 16, a male police officer reportedly told female students to be mindful of their attire, or else, they might attract unwanted attention.

The officer's remarks were interpreted by some students as a form of victim-shaming, as it holds the girl's attire responsible for provoking the perpetrator into sexually assaulting her.

This led to two parents voicing their concerns on Facebook.

In response to feedback that victim-shaming is inappropriate in this day and age, the police contacted the parents and school over the way crime-prevention talks will be delivered in the future, particularly in addressing the issue of sexual assault.

One of the parent, Eleanor Tan, 40, wrote on Facebook confirming that the police is looking into the matter:

I am satisfied that the school administration and teaching staff recognised the seriousness of what happened, and am glad that the school's environment is conducive to open discussion and the sharing of views. I am also glad that they acted swiftly to deal with the fallout of the incident, and took pains to undo whatever damage may have been done.

The parent of my daughter's classmate has also spoken with the supervisor of the police unit the speaker belonged to, and received responses and assurances showing that they too, are looking to move on from this in a positive way and address their shortcomings.

Tan also wrote that the a teacher from the school had also engaged the students affected and the police:

Nevertheless, I appreciated the fact that he took the trouble to reply with great care, and assured me that the school had followed up with both the students and the Singapore Police Force to ensure that this would not happen again. He also promised that speakers at the school would be screened with greater care.

Another parent, Petrina Kow, 40, had also posted on Facebook, saying she is satisfied with the outcome for now, as she is aware there is still a long way to go to alter mindsets:

"I have highlighted to (the police) my deeper concerns and what gives me hope is that they are really pro-active and eager to improve and receive feedback."

"I do not walk away from this incident outraged... I am still cautiously aware of the long journey ahead to break these deeply held, misguided and ultimately dangerous notions of 'inviting crime'."

 

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