The suspension of Parliament due to the emergency declaration has left sexual harassment victims vulnerable as MPs are now unable to debate or approve a bill to criminalise the offence.
There are also concerns about the plight of domestic violence victims, who are now trapped again with their abusers due to the movement control order (MCO) being implemented in five states and three federal territories.
The situation is such that some, who are against the emergency, are open to Putrajaya advising the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to enact emergency ordinances if they would give better protection to victims in the interim.
The All Women's Action Society (Awam) said they received 10 cases of sexual harassment in the first 12 days of 2021.
For 2020, the group received 162 cases, of which 68 were online sexual harassment.
"It can be safely estimated for each report made, at least five to 10 cases remain unreported," Awam told Malaysiakini, adding that the need for anti-sexual harassment legislation is urgent.
The sexual harassment bill - which has bipartisan support - was supposed to be debated in the Dewan Rakyat last July. It was postponed with the pandemic cited as a reason why.
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Rina Harun assured that the bill would be debated this year.
However, Parliament has now been suspended due to the emergency, which will tentatively last until Aug 1 - meaning the sexual harassment bill cannot become a law until after then.
"It is personally mind-blowing to me that this bill has yet to be tabled in Malaysia and thus, repeat offenders can still roam free whereas the victim can be fired or face unjust consequences for coming forward with a complaint," said Muda co-founder Dr Thanussha F Xavier when contacted.
With these factors in mind, several politicians - who are opposed to the emergency - said emergency ordinances could be used to introduce interim protections for sexual harassment victims.
Among those who were open to this, include Thanussha, Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar, Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim, and Warisan's deputy women's chief Jo-Anna Sue Henley Rampas.
"Stakeholders should play a role in pressuring the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry to request for a law against sexual harassment to be put forward and to be considered by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to be enacted as a matter of urgency as an emergency ordinance," Rampas said.
"This would also act as interim protection towards the vulnerable especially during the MCO 2.0 and the recovery period of this pandemic.
"We can’t afford the trend of sexual harassment and domestic abuse cases skyrocketing like the Covid-19 cases," she added.
Hassan, who said there should be an ordinance to provide interim protection to sexual harassment victims, said this can be done as per Clause 2B of Article 150 of the Constitution, which states that on matters requiring immediate attention, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong may enact any ordinance that he sees as necessary.
As for domestic violence, the Women's Aid Organisation (WAO) and others have expressed concern that there would be a rise in cases during the MCO period, as there was last year when the order was in place the first time.
The second round of MCO is tentatively only for two weeks until Jan 26.
However, Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said it could take up to three months to flatten the curve of Covid-19 infections, indicating that the MCO could be extended further.
The WAO, in a statement on Monday, stressed that the government needs to ensure a clear policy on domestic violence during the MCO. It also called for allocations to frontliners, hotlines, and shelters to deal with abuse cases.
While the Domestic Violence Act does currently empower Social Welfare Department (SWD) officers to issue one week emergency protection orders for victims - Awam pointed out that this power is not always exercised.
"In our experience, when we do reach the welfare officers, they will usually encourage the survivors to make a police report and apply for an interim protection order. However, this defeats the purpose of an EO," they said.
"We also have had the experience of not being able to reach the welfare office in another state (outside Klang Valley) for assistance with an urgent case," they said.
Nurul Izzah said the issue hence is to ensure that existing agencies and the police remain vigilant on enforcing protection orders.
"We need political will and leadership on this front," she told Malaysiakini.
Awam said while they understand the SWD may be under-resourced, now is the time to get more resources.
This includes collaboration between the government and social workers who can form a pool of support for the welfare department.
Funding, they said, can also be channelled from the allocations cut from the now-rebranded Special Affairs Department.
"What better time to think about the people's wellbeing than now?" they said. - Mkini
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