PETALING JAYA: A women’s group has called on police to priortise gender sensitivity among their personnel to ensure women feel protected when they seek redress for their grievances.
All Women’s Action Society (Awam) information and communications officer Jernell Tan Chia Ee said regular training on gender sensitivity and awareness of gender-based violence should be put in place to ensure long-term gender-responsive policing.
She cited several cases where police failed to take gender-based violence seriously and urged them not to delay the gender-sensitivity agenda, which could lead to under-reporting and further trauma for victims.
She said such training should be carried out by the Criminal Investigation Department’s sexual, women and children investigations division and funded by a RM13 million allocation given to the unit by the government.
Tan was responding to a case where a policeman allegedly made “victim-blaming” remarks on a cosplayer who went to a police station to lodge a report on Monday.
Petaling Jaya police chief ACP Fakhrudin Abdul Hamid said he views the allegation seriously and has ordered an internal investigation to be carried out by the Integrity and Standard Compliance Department.
He said the complainant had gone to the Kelana Jaya police station to make a report and felt uncomfortable with the way she was treated and by the comments made by an officer on duty.
“If investigations prove that any officer or personnel had made the comments as claimed, stern action would be taken against them. We will always provide the best service and treatment to the public.”
On Monday, the 21-year-old female cosplayer, who had participated in an Anime Fest, a cosplay event at Paradigm Mall in Kelana Jaya, decided to lodge a report after being stalked by a man at the event.
She claimed that at the police station, an officer told her that “she was stalked due to her attire and was partly to blame”.
The officer also told her “not to get involved in modelling if she did not belong to an agency”.
It was learnt that police have marked the woman’s case as “no further action” as the stalker is believed to be mentally challenged.
The man had apparently trailed the complainant during the event, making her feel uneasy.
On another matter, Mohd Fakhrudin said a police officer who was fined for using a mobile phone while driving will face disciplinary action for his disregard of road traffic laws.
He said police will not tolerate any personnel flouting the law and will ensure they face severe reprimand.
The policeman concerned was captured on video using a mobile phone while driving in an official police car near Sungai Way.
The video, which was taken by a passing motorist, went viral on social media on Monday.
