malaysia

Sexual abuse is not ‘Fifty Shades’ romance, says women’s rights group

March 11, 2016

Women and migrants' rights group Tenaganita says works such as 'Fifty Shades of Grey' can contribute to existing problems of sexual abuse. – Reuters pic, March 11, 2016.Women and migrants' rights group Tenaganita today warned against the message of the book and adapted movie "Fifty Shades of Grey" after a woman the group rescued was found to have been tortured and abused with methods described in the best-selling novel.

Its Women’s Force executive director Glorene A. Das said Tenaganita had rescued a woman who described how her perpetrators had followed descriptions of sexual acts in the book by British author E.L. James, which has been banned by Malaysian censors.

Das said the experiences of women and children who suffered sexual abuse had been undermined by the production of "Fifty Shades of Grey".

She said there was a need to talk seriously about the impact of such movies on others, like those who suffer sexual abuse.

"One should care about the stories that are being told through film and other forms of media. These stories shape our ideas and values.

"So my only hope is that we talk seriously about the impact of such movies on another, who is vulnerable like the girl we rescued today and boycott all that promote abuses, torture and violence," Das said in a statement.

"These experiences combined with interviews of numerous people immersed in this world have led me to the undeniable conclusion that this movie or novel is not some erotic thrill but it is about the desecration of humanity."

Das said the victim was assailed by "10 to 15 (perpetrators) per night for almost five months", who were "hyper-controlling, bullish, volatile, caustic, narcissistic, manipulative and fixated on inflicting pain, humiliation and degradation on another human being".

"Isn't this the review on Christian Grey – the male character of the book and movie?" she said

Das said there were hundreds of women, boys and girls including children, who had been forced into servicing customers, both men and women, because there was a "tremendous, rampant and flourishing demand for such services".

She said victims were subjected to the "worst kinds of abuse and torture".

"In the cause of my work at Tenaganita under Anti-Trafficking in Persons, I have witnessed so many victims being abused and tortured in a manner that is so barbaric and monstrous, and it never ceases to amaze me how creative humans have become towards inflicting pain, this is so disturbing, even traumatising.

"Trafficked women and children as well as sex workers suffer traumatic brain injuries at rates as high as torture survivors; they are often burned with cigarettes, slashed with razor blades, anally and vaginally raped, tied up, punched, kicked, and regularly murdered.

"But Fifty Shades of Grey and all that follows seem to see all this as a form of pleasure and the demands grows," she said. – March 11, 2016.