Advocacy groups urge deadline as sexual harassment bill delayed again
Women rights groups have urged the government to set a deadline for the tabling of the Sexual Harassment Bill in the Dewan Rakyat as the legislation faces further delays.
The law was supposed to be tabled in March but fell off the agenda after the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government in late February...
Women rights groups have urged the government to set a deadline for the tabling of the Sexual Harassment Bill in the Dewan Rakyat as the legislation faces further delays.
The law was supposed to be tabled in March but fell off the agenda after the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government in late February.
On Tuesday, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Rina Harun revealed that the draft bill was still with the Attorney-General's Chambers.
Rina, who attributed the delay to the change in government, also revealed that plans to table the legislation were pushed back to next year.
Nisha Sabanayagam, All Women’s Action Society (Awam) programme and operations manager, expressed disappointment at the Perikatan Nasional government's decision, stating that it lacks seriousness in prioritising women's safety and public health.
“It is good to hear that the issue of the bill was brought up in Parliament after a long silence and that there is a definite statement that it will be tabled.
"However, it should have been tabled sooner, rather than later," she told Malaysiakini when contacted.
Nisha acknowledged that "speed bumps" were expected after a change in government, but noted that the bill was ready for tabling.
"Moving forward, it would be good to commit to a date as to when the bill is going to be tabled,” Nisha said.
She added that if the authorities had any questions on the bill or its draft, they can refer to the stakeholder organisations, including Awam, which are ready to support the government on this matter.
She lamented that by pushing the bill to next year, the government missed the opportunity to ensure proper allocation for the implementation of the bill under Budget 2021, which is expected to be approved this month.
In October, Awam launched an online campaign urging the government to table the Sexual Harassment Bill in the current Parliament session.
However, that did not happen as the government was occupied with Budget 2021.
Civil society groups have been pushing for laws to specifically deal with sexual harassment for more than two decades.
Awam first drafted the sexual harassment bill with the Women’s Centre for Change in Penang in the 1990s.
Awam was also part of the Women, Family and Community Development's special task force on sexual harassment and was involved in refining the bill.
62 percent of women at work reported sexual harassment
Meanwhile, Women's Aid Organisation's (WAO) advocacy director Yu Ren Chung (below) said the delay of the sexual harassment bill was the price that had to be paid following the Sheraton Move, a series of political manoeuvrings that led to the collapse of the Harapan government.
Yu stressed that Malaysia could not afford any more delays in critical policy reforms.
“Numerous reports have shown how serious a problem sexual harassment is in Malaysia. A 2019 survey by YouGov suggests 36 percent of Malaysians women and 17 percent of men have experienced sexual harassment – in universities, workplaces, in the public and in other spaces.
"A 2020 survey by Vase.ai with Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) suggests that 62 percent of working women in Malaysia have experienced workplace sexual harassment," he said.
Yu pointed out that there is already a draft bill put together by a joint committee comprising government, civil society groups and academicians, adding that Rina should be championing it.
He urged the government, especially de facto Law Minister Takiyuddin Hassan, to prioritise the policy reforms such as making stalking an offence, ensuring gender equality and end gender-based violence.
Rina had in July reportedly said the bill was expected to be tabled during the current Parliament session.
The Harapan government had begun working on the Anti-Harassment Bill in 2018, which was part of the coalition’s 14th general election manifesto.
The bill was supposed to be tabled in March this year, but it was derailed after a full Dewan Rakyat session was postponed.
The PN government, facing an uncertain majority at the time, cited the Covid-19 pandemic as a reason.
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
This action cannot be undone.