LETTER | Sexual harassment is not merely a women’s issue

LETTER | Recently, there was news of a female lawyer who filed a legal suit against a partner and the legal firm for alleged sexual harassment.

In another case, a student complained on TikTok about a teacher who allegedly made a rape joke in class. The teacher subsequently filed a defamation suit against the student and her father.

Sexual harassment of the fairer sex is a pervasive and often hidden social problem, not only in Malaysia but across the world.

In many countries around the world, including the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, sexual harassment is considered a form of sex discrimination.

The defining characteristic of sexual harassment is that it is unwanted.

In Malaysia, sexual harassment, as defined by the Employment Act 1955, is “any unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, whether verbal, non-verbal, visual, gestural or physical, directed at a person which is offensive, humiliating or a threat to their well-being”.

Conscious choice

The act does not distinguish between male and female or employer and employee. As such, sexual harassment can be committed by a female against a male, or an employee against an employer.

As it is, there is a lack of official statistics surrounding sexual harassment in Malaysia. A YouGov Omnibus survey to find out how prevalent was the issue, conducted in 2019, revealed that approximately one out of three Malaysian women have experienced sexual harassment, compared to one in six men based on a sampling of 1,002 Malaysians.

Of those who faced harassment, only 50 percent reported or told someone about what they had to endure.

Apparently, many of the females did not report harassment against themselves or others because of fear of retaliation by the harasser or organisation.

Publicly, a majority assumes that the victim is equally to blame for the harassment when, in reality, harassment is a conscious choice made by the harasser.

Sexual harassment is often found to be linked with power, either through the abuse of power by the harasser who feels more powerful than the victim, or when the harasser feels powerless and uses sexual harassment as a means of disempowering the victim or the feeling of entitlement to do what he or she wants to the victim.

Social media platforms

No one deserves to be harassed. Putting the blame for the harassment on the victim is a way to manipulate the victim and other people. Harassers will tell the victim, "You made me do it," or will try to shift the burden by saying, "Everyone acts like that."

In an effort to break the silence that often surrounds this form of abuse, women everywhere now are using social media platforms to share their experiences of sexual harassment and its negative effects on their lives.

Sexual harassment does not often occur in full public view. Since there are often no witnesses or material evidence, issues of credibility often arise in sexual harassment claims.

Human rights law has established that the intention of the harasser does not matter when deciding if sexual harassment has occurred.

The Supreme Court of Canada has held that a lack of intention is no defence to an allegation of discrimination. It is enough if the conduct has a discriminatory effect, and the focus should be on the impact of the questionable behaviour.

Courts and tribunals in developed countries recognised that due to the power imbalance that often exists between the harasser and the person being harassed, and the perceived consequences of objecting to the harassing behaviour, the person may go along with the unwelcome conduct and be afraid to speak out.

In the landmark case of Mohd Ridzwan Abdul Razak v Asmah Hj Mohd Nor [2016] 4 MLJ 282 where Ridzwan sued Asmah for defamation and also sought a declaration that he had not sexually harassed her, the matter went all the way to the Federal Court where it held that it is not a legal requirement for the allegations by the victims of sexual harassment to be corroborated by a third party.

The Federal Court further states that the need for corroboration would render the victim helpless since most harassment would take place in private.

The decision by the Federal Court was a triumph of sorts for survivors of sexual harassment as the current legal protections place a high burden of proof on the victims, as seen with the Penal Code and the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.

Right thing

Both the lawyer and the student have done the right thing: they did the unexpected which was naming the behaviour of their respective harasser and making their actions visible through honest, direct, straightforward and blunt statements and refusing to be cowed by their harassers’ excuses and diversionary tactics.

The public should not give the appearance that those behaviours are condoned by them. Empathy from the public is warranted and will help us understand why women who are victims of sexual harassment are often blamed, rather than supported, when they experience abuse.

They faced tremendous risks when they speak up. So believe them when they do. If they can share their story with someone who responds with empathy and understanding, shame can’t survive.

The government and large organisations in the country proudly proclaimed they advocate zero tolerance of sexual harassment. This proclamation would be more meaningful if it is actively promoted than just being a mere statement.

The whole country needs to get beyond treating sexual harassment as a women’s issue. The next victim could be someone close to you.

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