About six years ago, sexual harassment in Malaysia was identified largely as a workplace issue.
In the legal context, it fell under the Employment Act 1955 and Industrial Relations Act 1967, with the then Human Resources Ministry expounding this further in the non-legally binding Code of Practice on the Prevention and Eradication of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace (1999).
If a police report is lodged, then it is seen as a criminal offence under four provisions in the Penal Code. When the Anti-Sexual Harassment bill passed at the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday is gazetted, perpetrators of these unwanted acts — both verbal and non-verbal — will be penalised beyond office walls.
Things that previously could be swept under the bureaucratic carpet will now stick out like sore thumbs through the revised legal system. Perpetrators can no longer hide behind a seemingly flawed system just because they sit high up in the office hierarchy.
From schools and shops to airlines and clinics, victims will have the option of seeking redress through a special tribunal to be set up by the government through the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry.
In the coming months, all eyes will be on the stakeholders. Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rina Harun said the financial allocation for the bill in the upcoming 2023 Budget would cover the tribunal's structure and other initiatives to educate people about it.
Education and awareness are key. Victims should know that they no longer need to suffer in silence. A 2020 survey by the Women's Aid Organisation showed that 62 per cent of women have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace. Another study by Omnibus found that half of the victims kept quiet because of reasons such as embarrassment (54 per cent), thinking no action would be taken (38 per cent) and fearing repercussions (26 per cent).
While the new law would be in line with the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and Article 8 of the Federal Constitution on gender equality, how it would govern the cyberspace remains to be seen. Predators have found a new home on social media. Degrading insults, lewd jokes and other unwanted sexual advances hide under anonymity.
From 2020 to July last year, more than 6,000 complaints on online bullying and sexual harassment have been investigated by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said the cases were investigated under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act (1998), which prohibits the spread of false, pornographic, threatening and harassing content. In 2020, he said 219 complaints lodged were on online sexual harassment. However, observers say legal provisions under the act hardly protected victims.
The All Women's Action Society said the definition of "obscene" was too loose and there were no specific guidelines to address online sexual harassment. It was reported that out of the complaints received by MCMC in 2020, only 213 were investigated for abuse of social media. Only seven were prosecuted in court.
In September last year, Rina said the Communications and Multimedia Act would address new concerns regarding sexual harassment cases online. Time will tell.