PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he has directed police to act immediately on reports lodged over cases of sexual harassment, adding such incidents were now happening in the open.
Anwar said some victims were sexually assaulted by their family members, teachers and even ustaz (religious teachers).
“It is embarrassing for a country that talks about values and morality yet we still come across reports that are just painful to read,” he said when officiating the International Women’s Day celebration, here.
Anwar said sexual harassment was a widespread problem that he hoped would be curbed now that the anti-sexual harassment laws were being enforced and an anti-sexual harassment tribunal had been established.
“Apart from this law, I have ordered the police to act quickly on reports lodged and I hope we can tackle this issue.”
Last year, the minister for women, family and community development, Nancy Shukri, revealed there was a worrying trend of sexual harassment cases involving children, with 35 cases reported in 2022. She said the number of cases did not reflect the actual situation as many incidents went unreported for various reasons.
Police statistics show that a total of 378 adult sexual harassment cases were reported in 2020. The number rose to 506 cases in 2021. In 2022, 477 cases of sexual harassment were documented. - FMT
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