![]() It includes the quality of life, such as one’s dignity and honour as provided in Tan Tek Seng v Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Pendidikan. The word ‘life’ in Article 5(1) is not only confined to physical existence. In Malaysia, the Federal Constitution recognises ‘life’ as a value which should be treated with utmost respect. Sexual harassment will fall under the former category as an act that disparages a person’s dignity and honour. ![]() Spiritual dignity refers to the ways in which a person should be treated, whereas material dignity has to do with a particular standard of living, for example, proper housing. SEXUAL HARASSMENT AS AN INFRINGEMENT OF A PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL’S RIGHTSĪ person’s dignity, both spiritual and material, is embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948. This article will consider all the issues mentioned above by outlining the scope of sexual harassment, the existing laws pertaining to sexual harassment, the measures that have been taken thus far via the existing laws, and the need for a specific sexual harassment law. Can current legislations protect victims of sexual harassment not only by penalising the perpetrators, but by providing forms of redress for said victims as well? Furthermore, even if such laws exist, are they available and known to the public? Are they effective in deterring sexual harassment conduct? And are they applicable to all victims of sexual harassment, irrespective of age, gender, location, and social standing? Is there, ultimately, a need for an all-encompassing Sexual Harassment Act in Malaysia? The issue lies in the adequacy of existing legislations to combat cases of sexual harassment in Malaysia. Indeed, several factors to its rise come to light, including: the deeply ingrained patriarchal mindset that has long plagued both the men and women of this country the privilege and power differentials between men and women on social and workplace status and the society’s indifference and culture of victim-blaming which is a magnanimous factor to victims’ reluctance in blowing the whistle and opting to suffer in silence instead. The most recent statistics on the reporting of such cases indicates a steady increase from 2013 to 2016. This proposal drew ire from several parties, including the former Women, Family and Community Development Deputy Minister Hannah Yeoh, who publicly berated the Senator for issuing such distasteful comments.ĭespite the public outrage, the underlying question remains, why has this been allowed to continue?Ĭases of sexual harassment in Malaysia have increased without the necessary actions to curb them. A more recent example was a proposal made in the House of Senate by former Senator Mohd Imran Abd Hamid, who was of the view that a law should be put in place to protect men from being seduced into sexual crimes such as rape. He pointed out that she also ‘leaked every month’ in reference to the rain leaking through the Parliament’s roof. In 2007, Member of Parliament (MP) Bung Mokhtar made a remark referencing female menstruation to the former female MP of Batu Gajah. Sadly, no attempt at a proper criminal prosecution under the criminal justice system has been undertaken.Īs the local community looks to the government and lawmakers for answers to these questions, several Parliament members themselves have been caught with incendiary remarks. ![]() In response to such criminal impunity, there was a call by several displeased voices for BFM to lodge a police report on the matter. The following year, radio station BFM 89.9 dealt with several accounts of sexual misconduct by simply dismissing two of their employees in question. ![]()
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