The stories of sexual harassment shared by female lawyers following an alleged groping incident at a lawyers’ gathering last month show that work-related harassment is not confined to the workplace, says the Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO).
These experiences show that while firms can be held accountable when there is harassment within their working premises, there exists a grey area that is out of the reach of company sexual harassment policies.
As such, WAO Advocacy Manager Yu Ren Chung said the Sexual Harassment Act the government has committed itself to enact must fill this gap.
“The Malaysiakini articles illustrate two important points. First, companies need to be held accountable to prevent and adequately respond to sexual harassment incidents in their working areas.
“Second, sexual harassment also occurs outside the workplace, in work-related social events, between acquaintances from other companies and so on.
“The law must cover sexual harassment cases that occur in any setting, not just between employers and employees of a company,” Yu (photo, below) said.
Female lawyers told Malaysiakini that sexual harassment is “rampant” within the legal fraternity and they have devised ways to keep one another safe from predatory behaviour, especially at work-related social gatherings.
This includes sharing among them a list of lawyers who have harassed others before, so they can avoid being in unsafe situations.
A survey by the Association of Women Lawyers in 2014 showed that one in three lawyers in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, male and female, have experienced sexual harassment or gender-based issues.
This has been taking place despite the Bar Council having a mechanism to address complaints of sexual harassment.
The lawyers who have experienced harassment told Malaysiakini they did not complain to the Bar Council for fear of career repercussions.
They also had little faith that action would be taken against the perpetrators, given the difficulties in proving sexual harassment.
Not just about heavy punishments
WAO’s Yu said this shows why the Sexual Harassment Act must be both a civil and criminal law.
“This will enable cases to be decided on a balance of probability basis as opposed to ’beyond reasonable doubt’.
“This approach prioritises prevention and protection, as opposed to heavy punishments,” he said.
Yu also urged firms, educational institutions and other organisations to educate the people on sexual harassment and implement policies to address it.
This includes engaging with organisations like WAO to conduct workshops on the issue.
He also urged those who have experienced sexual harassment and need support to contact the WAO by phone at 03-7956 3488 or SMS/WhatsApp at 018 988 8058 for assistance. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.