Help is out there

VICTIMS of sexual harassment need support, whether it is dealing with the trauma of being harassed or finding the courage to file a report.

“Rally support from your friends and family first because you don’t want to go through this journey alone,” says Sisters in Islam Executive Director Rozana Isa.

Sometimes, victims don’t feel comfortable talking to a family member or friend. In such cases, they can seek help from women’s groups such as the Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO), Women’s Centre for Change (WCC) Penang, and All Women’s Action Society (AWAM) who can provide victims of sexual harassment with the necessary counselling, advice and emotional support. They will also be able to support a victim report her harassment to the police.

There are several things that victims of sexual harassment can do: document detailed evidence in a chronological order, seek the support of family and friends, seek counseling and support from a women’s group, seek legal advice, report it within the organisation or institution where it happened, and report it to the police, says Women’s Centre For

Change programme director Karen Lai.

“Reporting a sexual crime can be traumatic because the victim has to ‘relive’ the experience.

Furthermore, going to court can be a lengthy, tedious and stressful process for these women, and support is so important.

“It’s a sign of strength when a woman who has been sexually harassed is willing to come forward and get help, because if she doesn’t, the perpetrator gets away with it and may do the same thing again to other women,” says

Lai.