KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 24): The Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development will conduct a comprehensive three-month impact study on the extent of workplace sexual harassment in the public and private sectors, in order to draft a new sexual harassment bill.  

Deputy minister Hannah Yeoh said the impact study — targeted to be completed by Jan 31, 2019 — will also take into account public feedback from stakeholders, including university students and working women. 

“The outcome of the impact study will be followed up with engagement sessions with various ministries, agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGO) and state governments to gain insights into establishing a new act specifically covering all forms of sexual harassment andissues of sexual harassment in public places,” she told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.  

“Our target is to conclude the impact study in January next year; then we will scrutinise it and start our planning to draft a bill to introduce a sexual harassment law,” Yeoh added.  

When asked as to when she is expects to table the bill, Yeoh said she would like to do as soon as possible. But practically speaking, it might be too rushed for the ministry to be able to table it at the next parliament session next March, she added. 

“For us to draft the bill, we must have extensive consultation with stakeholders, women NGOs and others, but we feel that there is urgency and that’s why we asked for the impact study to be shortened to only three months,” Yeoh said.

“Most sexual harassment cases that we receive are victims who dare not report, as they are afraid of the stigma of people often having a negative perception toward the victim. But that is why we are looking at existing cases to make sure that when we draft the act, the act will be effective in helping the victims,” Yeoh added.  

Yeoh was responding to Kota Tinggi MP Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique’s question to the ministry on its willingness to formulate a Sexual Harassment Act which has been proposed by the former minister, following an increase in cases involving employees and the public.

For the time being, Malaysia has no specific laws to address sexual harassment issues, she noted. 

However, there are some legal provisions and codes of practice, as well as guidelines introduced by the government, to curb sexual harassment at workplaces. 

They are the Code of Practice to Prevent and Eradicate Sexual Harassment in the Workplace (1999) under the Ministry of Human Resource to cover corporate and private sectors, as well as the Guidelines for Handling Sexual Harassment at Work in the Public Service (2005), under the public service department (JPA) for civil servants. 

“Right now, we have gaps [in the legal provisions]. We have codes of practice for the public sector and the private sector, but for other areas like the universities, for students — from whom we have also received reports of cases — which act will they use? So we want to examine the existing cases and we will be in touch with PDRM,” she said. 

“Our hurdle right now is that the guidelines that we have for civil servants, are just guidelines in which the worst case scenario is just dismissal from work. 

“We want to create a safe environment in the workplace,” she added.