LETTER | It is not a joke, it is sexual harassment

LETTER | What is acceptable behaviour for one person is not always acceptable to another. It’s time to stop trivialising sexual harassment, victim-shaming and body-shaming. It is high time to stop telling the complainant not to over-react. It is not over-reaction if it bothers one’s safety, wellbeing or mental health. 

It takes a lot of courage to speak up and to have uncomfortable discussions. Kudos to Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam for having the guts to stand her ground. Soroptimist International Region of Malaysia stands with her.

An apology or retraction of an offensive statement does not even the score. To do so is to set a dangerous precedent. We have to see better and more genuine efforts to address the recent flood of complaints of callous and dismissive statements and disturbing conduct among some educators. Perpetrators have to be dealt with accordingly. 

We call on the Ministry of Education and appropriate authorities to advocate child protection, implement effective processes to prevent similar occurrences and to require educators to be better informed about sexual harassment. 

Schools should be a safe space for all our children, regardless of gender. It is a disgrace that Ain has now been attacked on social media by the principal of her school and has also been expelled from school. This is absolutely unacceptable.

The psychological and emotional damage that is inflicted on a child by such dangerous behaviour must not be taken lightly. We must ensure that our children and youth be heard and the correct action is taken. Some measures that are necessary should include:

(a) Education on the prevention of sexual harassment and assault before and during puberty because that is when those beliefs and values begin to set in. More consent education in health and ethics classes should be included in our primary school syllabus. For a start, ‘period spot checks’ should be discontinued with immediate effect as it is a serious violation of privacy and constitutes sexual harassment.

(b) Bystander intervention should be encouraged. Fellow students and educators must also play their part to step in when they see harmful situations developing, by creating a sense of shared responsibility. They should be taught that every person has the ability and an obligation to build a safe and healthy learning environment;

(c) Students must be heard, whether there is a hotline they can dial, professionally-trained student counsellors they can speak to, or online support groups to hear them out. Access to advice and protection should be a click or a phone call away;

(d) Parents should also get on board. They can reinforce student learning outside the classroom and help facilitate the larger cultural changes to which prevention programmes can aspire. It is time to ask parents to jointly build environments outside of school where students can practice the prevention skills they learn.

On our part, various Soroptimist International (SI) clubs in Malaysia have carried out their own initiatives. To highlight a few, the SI club of Petaling Jaya has implemented the Spot Community Project delivering comprehensive sexuality education empowering young women and children with the right knowledge, attitude and skills that will assist them in making informed decisions in matters relating to sexual and reproductive health. 

This programme has already impacted nearly 10,000 girls in schools since 2015. The SI Club of Bangsar also conducts personal safety workshops for children and SI Kota Kinabalu has been raising awareness on social media through the dissemination of impactful posters and messages against sexual harassment.

Soroptimist International Region of Malaysia is calling out to our leaders, teachers and our community to create a safe environment for our children and our youth. They are our future, one we must protect and nurture.

The writer is president of the Soroptimist International Region of Malaysia. Soroptimist International is the largest women’s service organisation in the world.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.