Abstract
Sexual harassment is one of the most prevalent issues in Malaysia, with no law that could adequately provide redress for the victims. Some of the statutes which have been used to address sexual harassment include the Employment Act 1955, the Industrial Relation Act 1967 and the Penal Code. However, none of these statutes has been efficient enough to tackle sexual harassment and bring proper redress to the victims. A law that focuses solely on sexual harassment is needed for a more effective remedy against sexual assault and this bill was finally introduced to Parliament through the Anti-Sexual Harassment Bill 2021. This bill has a few objectives, one of which is to create a tribunal to deal with sexual harassment and the tribunal shall have powers to make orders for the offenders and awards for the victims of sexual harassment. Nevertheless, this bill is subjected to some criticism due to it being not survivor-centric, thus an amendment has been demanded before its second reading. It is of utmost importance for this bill to be comprehensive and to be passed as a law, as sexual harassment is essentially an infringement of human rights due to it being discriminatory. At its core, sexual harassment is a violation of women’s rights and a form of discrimination based on sex. Thus, continuing to allow sexual harassment to prevail would mean continuing to let the rights guaranteed under Article 5 and 8 of the Federal Constitution to be infringed. It is about time that sexual harassment is seen as the serious crime that it is and be treated as such.
Nur Fitrah Binti Azaman, Universiti Utara Malaysia
fifyzmn@gmail.com
Kommentare