SHAH ALAM – A recent proposal by Kelantan police to prosecute teenage girls involved in underage consensual sex has triggered debate nationwide, drawing strong criticism from child rights advocates, women’s groups, legal experts and politicians.
The proposal first came from Kelantan Police Chief Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mamat, who highlighted that nearly 90 per cent of statutory rape cases reported in the state involved teenagers who admitted the encounters were consensual.
Under current law, however, only boys or men could be charged.
“Right now, the law leans towards prosecuting the male, even when both parties say it was consensual,” Yusoff said, adding that the matter would be raised with the Attorney-General’s Chambers and religious authorities to explore possible legal reforms.
He said that holding both sides accountable could deter teenagers from engaging in prohibited behaviour.
But the idea quickly drew backlash. Women’s groups, legal experts and politicians said it risks undermining the very principle of child protection.
National Women’s Inspiration Association (WIN) president Norhimah Aziz warned that subjecting girls as young as 15 or 16 to court proceedings would ‘only add to the burden of those already confused by emotions at a young age.’
“Laws such as the Sexual Offences Against Children Act were designed to protect girls as victims, including in cases that are considered ‘consensual’.
“Imagine a teenage girl having to face court and the stigma of society, it is not a solution but could instead destroy her future,” she told Sinar.
Norhimah said the move also contradicts the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Malaysia has ratified.
While the intention may be to appear fair to both genders, she argued, the risk is that girls would be too afraid to seek reproductive health support or counselling.
Instead, she called for comprehensive sex education, access to youth-friendly healthcare and consideration of models like the “Romeo and Juliet” laws in other countries that treat close-in-age consensual relationships differently from exploitative ones.
Criminologist Shahul Hamid Abd Rahim said that while the law may need review, especially in recognising the role of both parties, the deeper issue lies in social factors such as family breakdown, social media influence and weak guidance.
“If these aspects are not addressed, teenagers will remain exposed to risks regardless of gender,” he said.
Meanwhile, Tebrau MP Jimmy Puah Wee Tse dismissed the proposal as a “serious misunderstanding” of Malaysia’s sexual offence laws.
He pointed to Section 375(g) of the Penal Code, which states that sex with a girl under 16 is statutory rape even with consent, because children do not have the legal capacity to consent.
“Legally, a girl cannot be convicted of rape because the law defines rape only as a male act against a female.
“Prosecuting underage girls would not only lack a legal basis, it would be a humanitarian failure and contradict the very spirit of child protection,” he said in a statement.
Puah warned that such a move could stigmatise victims and deter them from reporting abuse, turning the justice system into “a source of fear rather than protection.”