Activity: Risk Assessment Case Study
"Viral Sial" is a powerful documentary about Aisyah Tajuddin, a former BFM radio presenter, who faced terrible online abuse after criticizing the political situation in Kelantan. In March 2015, BFM Radio released an episode of their satirical show Kupas. The episode questioned why the Kelantan State Legislature prioritized passing the Syariah Criminal Enactment Law, known as hudud, while poverty, unemployment, and homelessness remained unresolved. The video quickly went viral, leading to a wave of rape and death threats against Aisyah on social media. "Viral Sial" looks at how religious sensitivity, race, and gender played a role in the intense backlash against her. It also examines how the show's producers handled the situation. The documentary highlights the challenges young, outspoken women face in Malaysia and questions how far free speech can go in a sensitive society.
Task Overview
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Start by watching "Viral Sial" to understand Aisyah Tajuddin's story and the challenges she faced.
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Identify the minimum 2 threats that Aisyah faced after the video went viral, while identifying the threat also consider the holistic safety lens.
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Evaluate the impact of these threats on Aisyah’s life. Think about the effects on her personal safety, mental health, career, and social relationships.
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Use the risk assessment template to organize your findings into a table similar to the example provided. Feel free to present your risk assessment in any other format that is not a table.
- Finally, recommend some mitigation strategy that Aisyah can take. For the purpose of this exercise, I suggest 3 fellows to focus on reactive mitigation strategies and the other 3 focus on preventive strategies.
- Preventive strategies: Diyaa, Nicole, and, and Hidayat
- Reactive strategies: Qadir, Shen, and Akmal.
Resources
- Youth Guide to End Online Gender-Based Violence
- Gender Justice and the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression (Malaysia)
Risk assessment template:
