NOWHERE TO RUN
While waiting for the sexual harassment bill to be passed, victims are coming forward, more and more, to expose their harassers online.
AMELIA* (not her real name), 38, who works in a male-dominated field – building and construction – often has to put up with sexist remarks and behaviour from her male colleagues and superiors. They would tease her for dressing like an ah
ma (old lady) and urge her to “sexy a bit, lah” especially when meeting important clients.
One male colleague keeps making comments laden with sexual innuendos about Amelia even in her presence.
It happened so often that she simply became accustomed to brushing the comments off as part of the cons of being in a male-dominated industry.
“I was assigned a project outstation which required me to travel with a male colleague. My company insisted that I share a room with my male colleague to save costs even though I didn’t feel comfortable with it,” she says.
“I was told not to be ‘old-fashioned’ and that it’s normal for men and women to twin-share a room and besides it’s not the same bed, but I felt that it was an invasion of my personal space and privacy as a woman,” she adds.
Amelia didn’t feel like she could turn to her employer – who was a man – who had approved the room-sharing for the trip.
It didn’t help that other male colleagues made snide remarks to the colleague she was supposed to have shared the room with that she should be “grateful for the attention of a man even if something were to happen since she was a spinster”.
“I felt really angry, humiliated and powerless,” Amelia says.
Amelia reveals that she doesn’t know what her company policy on sexual harassment is or even if such a policy existed. But she kept silent because she felt nothing would happen or, worse, there would be negative repercussions if she were to complain. Her greatest fear was losing her job because she is the sole breadwinner and has an elderly mother to take care of at home.
Fortunately for her, the project was put on hold and Amelia avoided an uncomfortable situation that could potentially have been risky too.
While there isn’t a law against room sharing with colleagues (whether of the same gender or not), employers need to come up with a code of conduct for employees to ensure their staff feel safe from harassment of any sort, says Association of Women Lawyers vice president Meera Samanther.
A Code of Practice on the Prevention and Eradication of Sexual Harassment (Code of Practice) was introduced by the Human Resources Ministry (MOHR) in 1999 but it does not have the force of law. Companies and organisations are encouraged to implement the code or come up with their own but they are not compelled to.
Like Amelia, many employees don’t even know if the company they work for have a code of practice on sexual harassment.
“Often, even though there is a policy on sexual harassment, it is voluntary and often not strictly enforced by organisations and institutions,” Meera says.
It’s not harmless, it’s harassment
Sexual harassment is defined as “any unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, whether verbal, non-verbal, visual, gestural or physical, directed at a person which is offensive, humiliating or a threat to their well-being”. Harassment can take place in the workplace, in public spaces, educational institutions, religious organisations and also online. “Sexual harassment comprises a range of unwanted sexual behaviour towards an intended victim,” says Women’s Centre for Change programme director Karen Lai.
“It is essentially an assault on the victim, and whether it is verbal, visual/gestural, psychological, physical, or virtual, it is not acceptable and they have a right to report because it is her or his human right,” she adds.
But, because there isn’t yet a comprehensive law on sexual harassment, reporting sexual harassment can be tricky: while there are provisions under part XVA of the Employment Act 1955, these are limited.
Some sections in the Penal Code offer some protection but only when it comes to physical forms of sexual harassment.
Without a clear definition of what sexual harassment is and how they can be protected, victims are reluctant to say anything.
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun recently announced that the proposed Sexual Harassment Bill, which has been on the drawing block for years, was on track to be tabled in Parliament before the end of the year.
The proposed bill should provide a comprehensive definition of sexual harassment and lay out more mechanisms for victims to lodge complaints.
It will also propose remedial elements and penalties for offenders and hopefully give victims like Amelia more confidence to stand up against harassment.
But until the law is actually passed, many victims would rather not report their harrasment for fear of not being believed and instead, being shamed.
The recent video of a MRSM Baling teacher blaming victims’ attire and behaviour for rape underscores the shaming that prevents women from reporting harassment.
Instead, more and more victims are turning to social media to share their stories, expose their harassers and get support from other victims or a more empathetic public.
Even though sharing personal and painful details of their harassment exposes them to scrutiny, and sometimes, hurtful judgement from strangers, these victims find the solace and support they need to move on.
“Individuals who have been sexually harassed have to deal with a variety of emotions. The psychological impact of the incident often leaves
WITHOUT a law that effectively addresses sexual harassment in Malaysia, reporting it can be extremely daunting, notes Sisters in Islam (SIS) executive director Rozana Isa.
“Often, a victim thinks of the immediate implications to herself – if she speaks up against the perpetrator, will it negatively affect her job/studies,” she says.
Rozana highlights that while sexual harassment can happen to anyone across different faiths, it is particularly challenging for Muslim women as the Syariah law doesn’t address the issue of sexual harassment nor provide protection against it (including rape).
“But, it does address other wrongdoing such as khalwat (close proximity). The worry for a Muslim woman is that if it was a situation where she was alone with the perpetrator, she may be accused of khalwat if she reports the sexual harassment,” she explains.
While it may seem easier to just ignore acts of sexual harassment, Women’s Centre for Change programme director Karen Lai says that no matter how difficult, it is crucial that victims of sexual harassment speak out and officially report the harassment they experience so that perpetrators can be brought to justice.
“It takes strength and courage to take action, so rather than being blamed, victims of sexual harassment should be empowered to speak up and do something about it,” she adds.
The first step to combat sexual harassment is to document the evidence in a chronological order and detailed manner.
“Documentation is power with evidence. Do it as soon as possible after the incident before you forget the details, and as thoroughly as possible,” Lai advises.
“A lot of sexual harassment also happens through text, so it’s very important that you don’t delete these texts. If it happens on social media, screen capture it as evidence,” she says.
Twenty-two-year-old blogger Laila* enjoys posting photos of herself on social media, usually to promote products or show places that she has visited.
Recently, someone using a troll account, started posting lewd remarks on her profile, telling her that her poses were “so sexy” that he was aroused.
Not knowing better, Laila deleted the remarks immediately, afraid that they would impact her followers or give a bad impression to the business whose product she was promoting.
“I didn’t realise that something could actually be done about it.
“It made me feel like it was my fault, that I had done something to provoke it,” she says.
Like Laila, many women who have been sexually harassed online often brush off the trauma they experience, delete the offensive comments or even even close their social media accounts in order to get away from the harassment. Or, they are made to believe that they brought it upon themselves.
Women who have been sexually harassed on social media but don’t know who the perpetrator is because it is a troll account, can report it to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). If they do know the person, they can go to the police.
Evidence is especially important for women who have been sexually harassed physically.
“We always advise rape victims not to take a shower after they’ve been attacked because the physical evidence is really important in order to get a conviction,” says Lai even though she acknowledges that cleaning up after being attacked is the most natural thing to do
“But if there isn’t any physical evidence, take note of the details such as the time, date and location it happened at and if there are any witnesses, and write everything down,” she adds. — Ming Teoh