Research conducted by the Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) and research company Vase.ai demonstrates an urgent need for the enactment of sexual harassment legislation.
The Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) urges the government to follow through on its commitment to table the bill in the next Parliament session and to help make Malaysia a safer place for women.
Last week, Vase.ai and the Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) launched the results of a survey collaboration, “Voices of Malaysian Women on Discrimination and Harassment in the Workplace.”
New research conducted by @vase.ai in collaboration with WAO, @undi18my, and @aodmalaysia reveals widespread support for...
Posted by Women's Aid Organisation on Wednesday, September 30, 2020
The survey, based on the opinions of 1,010 Malaysian women, sought to understand the prevalence of and women’s experiences with workplace harassment and discrimination. In addition to supporting the need for policy change to bring about a more gender-equal workplace, the survey results demonstrate the need for a Sexual Harassment Act that provides redress for sexual harassment in any context.
1. Women’s experience of sexual harassment
Overall, 62% of women surveyed said they have experienced one or more forms of sexual harassment in the workplace, suggesting that the majority of Malaysian women have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace.
Of these, 39% have experienced offensive sexual jokes or innuendos, 24% have experienced unwelcome touching or grabbing, 22% have experienced sexual gestures, body movements, or looks, 18% have experienced stalking behaviour, and 16% have experienced verbal sexual abuse.
2. Women’s perceptions of sexual harassment
When presented with specific types of behaviours constituting sexual harassment, 62% of women indicated that they have experienced one or more of those behaviours, when asked the question of whether they had encountered sexual harassment before, only 21% of women answered affirmatively.
Additionally, when given examples of certain behaviours constituting sexual harassment, women often categorised the behaviour as “unprofessional,” but did not identify it as sexual harassment. Specifically:
52% of women do not consider the act of suggesting a coworker to make advances towards a client/potential client, to be a form of sexual harassment but classify it as unprofessional behavior.
42% of women do not consider the act of stalking, to be a form of sexual harassment but classify it as unprofessional behavior.
50% of women do not consider repeatedly making advances towards a person who has already declined them to be a form of sexual harassment but classify it as unprofessional behavior.
12% of women do not consider making sexual gestures, body movements, or looks to someone, to be a form of sexual harassment but classify it as unprofessional behavior.
11% of women do not consider the act of sending or composing sexual emails, bulletins, or photos to someone, to be a form of sexual harassment but classify it as unprofessional behavior.
9% of women do not consider the act of making sexual advances towards unwilling recipients to be a form of sexual harassment but classify it as unprofessional behavior.
16% of women do not consider the act of directing sexual statements towards unwilling recipients to be a form of sexual harassment but classify it as unprofessional behavior.
33% of women do not consider a person making sexual jokes or innuendos to be a form of sexual harassment but classify it as unprofessional behavior.
15% of women do not consider unwelcome touching or grabbing to be a form of sexual harassment but classify it as unprofessional behavior.
These statistics suggest a discrepancy between women’s experiences of sexual harassment and their perception of what constitutes sexual harassment, and goes directly to the need for a Sexual Harassment Act not only to define sexual harassment and provide redress mechanisms for it but to enhance public awareness of the issue and send a clear message to society that it is wrong.
A Sexual Harassment Act will not only raise awareness among survivors of sexual harassment about what they are experiencing, but also among perpetrators, who may have normalised harassing behaviours.
JAG urges the government to act swiftly on the survey results which underscore the experiences of many Malaysian women by tabling the sexual harassment bill during this Parliament session
The complete survey results are available here!
By: Aishah Akashah Ahadiat
