NGO: Law firms must band together to address bullying, sexual harassment

The Association of Women Lawyers (AWL) has urged legal firms to work together to provide an industry-wide response against workplace bullying and sexual harassment.

This is in light of a survey that found little trust in the ability of law firms to protect their employees from such incidents, despite their prevalence among Malaysian respondents.

Speaking to Malaysiakini about the survey, AWL vice-president Meera Samanther (above) called upon the firms to share resources to put in place policies against such misconduct.

“As stated in the report, where firms have adopted anti-bullying and sexual harassment policies, there is a higher confidence level among their employees.

“Policies do make a difference. More law firms need to step up in this regard and more resource-sharing is needed between firms that have successfully done it and those that want to know how to do it,” Meera said.

Conducted by the International Bar Association, the survey showed that just 13 percent of Malaysian respondents rated their workplaces’ approach to bullying and sexual harassment as “good or excellent”.

Only 17 percent of them said their law firms had policies addressing such cases while a mere seven percent said they had received training or information sessions on bullying and sexual harassment.

These were all lower than the global averages. The study recorded 6,980 responses from 135 countries, including 89 from Malaysia.

Sexual harassment law needed

Almost a quarter (24 percent) of female Malaysian lawyers surveyed said they had experienced sexual harassment while six percent of the male respondents said the same.

Globally, the top perpetrators were seniors, line managers and supervisors.

More than three-quarters of all sexual harassment victims said they never reported their cases, primarily due to the status of the perpetrator.

Recognising that such misconduct happened both inside and outside the legal fraternity, Meera called for legislation criminalising sexual harassment.

“Having a stand-alone Sexual Harassment Act will enable this process of recognising the issue and addressing it.

“AWL is part of a joint action group working on enacting legislation that specifically addresses sexual harassment. We feel that a specific law will highlight and raise awareness about sexual harassment and create a more supportive environment for those affected by sexual harassment to come forward,” she said.

Back in 2014, the AWL had conducted its own survey and found that one in three lawyers in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, both male and female, had experienced sexual or gender-based harassment.

On top of employers and seniors at law firms, the perpetrators identified in that survey included judges, prison guards, police officers and clients.

Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Hannah Yeoh previously said that a sexual harassment bill would be tabled before Dec 5 when the current sitting of the Dewan Rakyat ends.

At present, sexual harassment is an offence under the Employment Act 1955. Such misconduct can also be actionable under Section 509 of the Penal Code, although the term “sexual harassment” is not mentioned in the provision on “word or gesture intended to insult the modesty of a person”. - Mkini