KUALA LUMPUR: The Women's Aid Organisation (WAO) today demanded the government table the Sexual Harassment Bill soon and create a framework to protect students across academic levels from harassment and predatory behaviour.
In a statement, WAO called on the Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rina Harun and Senior Education Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Radzi Jidin to take the experiences of students in the country's learning institutions very seriously and push ahead with the promise of tabling the bill.
"The most recent expose on a Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Dengkil lecturer's predatory behaviour towards students and former students of the institution is only the tip of the iceberg and is alarming.
"This comes after months of reports and revelations of harassment by students such as Ain Husniza and those who came forth on period-checks in schools," it said.
WAO said there have been a string of reports from other higher education institutions such as Universiti Malaya (UM) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).
On the UiTM lecturer case, fifteen students came forward recently and exposed the lecturer in a Twitter discussion about higher education pathways in Malaysia, following the recent release of Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) results.
"Screenshots shared by ex-students show 'jokes' by the lecturer, about viewing his students with a 'horny face', staring at a student's breasts, and sneaking students into his office on campus to conduct 'fun business'.
"One victim detailed his flirtatious replies to her stories on social media, while other reports indicate sexual grooming by asking students to submit personal relationship diaries to the perpetrator," it said.
On June 18, UiTM launched an investigation into these allegations, and WAO said the lecturer was still currently teaching at the university pointing out a larger issue in managing sexual harassment cases.
"Previous studies have found that sexual harassment often occurs at educational institutions where a survey by YouGov in 2019 found that 22 per cent of respondents who experienced sexual harassment experienced it at educational institutions.
"Another study conducted and shared in parliament in Sept 2019 by the Ministry of Women, Family, and Community Development involving over 28,000 respondents found that 10 per cent of sexual harassment survivors said it happened in educational institutions.
WAO said the absence of a standardised framework for the prevention and management of sexual harassment cases enables institutions to protect perpetrators, absolving them of accountability.
"This protects individuals in positions of power, such as lecturers. This is extremely dangerous and detrimental for student survivors, as evidenced in the poor management of Universiti Malaya's Integrity Unit last year.
"A poll on sexual harassment conducted by the All Women's Action Society (AWAM) found that 59 per cent of respondents did not report the incident, with one reason being fear of repercussion as the perpetrator was in a position of power.
"Sexual harassment must be stopped. We must not protect perpetrators any longer and the Women, Family and Community Development Minister and Education Ministry are directly mandated to keep students safe from sexual exploitation."
WAO also urged the government to continue upholding the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC), and most importantly to Malaysians' human rights.
The statement was also endorsed by Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM); UNDI 18; Demokrat Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia; Demokrat Kebangsaan; Demokrat Malaya Siswa Solidariti USM; MYER Movement; Sarawak Women for Women Society (SWWS); Sisters in Islam (SIS); All Women's Action Society (AWAM); The 111 Initiative Perak Women for Women Society.