The e-filing system for sexual harassment victims to alert the Tribunal for Anti-Sexual Harassment (TAGS) being developed by the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry is expected to start operation next year.

Deputy Minister Noraini Ahmad said the system will facilitate sexual harassment victims nationwide to file complaints to Tags online considering the geographical constraints in Sabah and Sarawak.

“This tribunal can sit on any day, time, and place, as determined by the president (tribunal) and the Ministry also appoints tribunal members from Sabah and Sarawak, if there are complaints in the states on the East Coast, this tribunal can sit there,” she said at Dewan Negara question and answer session today.

She was replying to a supplementary question by Senator Anna Bell who wanted to know the ministry’s consideration of establishing Anti-Sexual Harassment Tribunals in Sabah and Sarawak to facilitate the hearing of cases in the two states that face geographical challenges.

Answering a question from Senator Arman Azha Abu Hanifah who wanted to know the statistics of sexual harassment and deterioration of mental health among the Malaysian community, Noraini said until July 2024, a total of five complaints of sexual harassment had been received by Tags since it was established on March 8.

“Statistics by the police show that cases reported for offences under Sections 292, 354, 377D, 507A, and 509 of the Penal Code, which refer to cases of sexual harassment are 1,483 cases in 2021, 1,455 cases in 2022, and 1,621 cases in the year 2023.

“For cases of sexual harassment involving men reported from 2019 to 2023, there were 484 victims, which is 6.3 percent of all cases for the same period,” she said.

- Bernama

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