RECENTLY, there was news of a female lawyer filing a legal suit against a partner and the legal firm for alleged sexual harassment. In another case, a pupil complained on TikTok about a teacher who allegedly made a rape joke in class, and was subsequently sued for defamation by the teacher.

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. A person does not have to object to the harassment at the time it happens for there to be a violation, or for the person to claim their rights.

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”. The Act does not distinguish between male and female or employer and employee.

As it is, there is a lack of official statistics surrounding sexual harassment in Malaysia. A YouGov Omnibus survey to find out how prevalent the issue was 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 and of those who faced harassment only 50% 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. There is also the possibility it could be trivialised by organisations or result in hostility and retaliation against the victim.

Publicly, the 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 the sexual harassment as a means of disempowering the victim or the feelings of entitlement to do what he or she wants to the victim.

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.”

Majority of big organisations have a grievance procedure. But in reality, these procedures were first cooked up by lawyers to intercept victims planning to sue, and then were adapted to protect companies against suits by the accused.

These organisations use the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard to determine guilt, not the lower “preponderance of evidence” standard that the courts use for harassment claims. That makes it nearly impossible to prove guilt without a confession or a witness.

Even if the accused is found guilty, confidentiality generally applies to the ruling, and thus word doesn’t get out that, say, women should steer clear of the harasser. Organisations sometimes offer to transfer victims to other departments or locations, but they almost never actually transfer or fire the accused, because they worry that the accused will sue.

Moreover, everybody knows these systems are rigged. That’s why human resource officers often counsel victims against filing grievances.

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

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

Where credibility is an issue, previous allegations or complaints of sexual harassment against the harasser may be evidence that the person should reasonably have shown a similar pattern of behaviour. – December 3, 2021.

* FLK reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.