Gang rape, sexual assault, murder, and bullying are not new to me.
I am 12 years old, and I know some people will find that first sentence shocking.
School should be the safest place for children, second only to their homes. But in today’s world, it often isn’t.
Recently, news broke that five Form Five boys gang-raped a female classmate and recorded the assault. Then, on Oct 14, a 14-year-old boy was arrested for murdering a 16-year-old girl. He allegedly stabbed her in a school bathroom in Bandar Utama. She died at the scene.
When I heard the news, my mind went straight to the Netflix series Adolescence, which my older relatives couldn’t stop talking about. In the show, a boy plots a cruel revenge after a girl rejects his advances. No life should ever be lost simply because a girl said no – there are always other options.
The parallels between that fiction and the Bandar Utama tragedy are eerie and deeply unsettling, even though we still don’t know what drove the boy to act as he did.
Reports suggest the suspect was an introvert, and police are investigating whether violent video games or certain social media content influenced his actions. It’s a stark reminder that loneliness can be corrosive – emotionally, mentally, and even physically.
That 16-year-old victim had a long life ahead of her. She deserved to live it. My heart breaks for the parents on both sides. How do you face the parents of the girl your own child murdered?
The news reported the girl was stabbed 200 times. Imagine the agony she endured. It is traumatising to even contemplate.
We live in a world where lives are senselessly cut short. The person who died had a family, dreams, and a future. They mattered.
What happened to that girl was an absolute nightmare.
So, please, let us learn to care for and respect one another, especially in school. It must be our safe space.
Think about what you can do to make your school or community a safer place for everyone.
To give the younger generation an avenue to express themselves, Twentytwo13 has a dedicated space called Young Voices. If you are a young writer (aged 17 and below) and would like your article published on our news website, send your contribution to editor@twentytwo13.my
