GEORGE TOWN, Dec 11 — The federal government should consider a new law to deal with modern-day sexual harassment and introduce added protections for victims coming forward, said a Penang state assemblyman today.
Kebun Bunga representative Jason Ong said this should ideally include an option for victims to report the harassment via online channels.
“There should also be a special court to hear sexual harassment cases,” he said when asserting that there was significant under-reporting of sexual harassment due to inadequate safeguards.
“We need a mechanism for victims to feel safe after reporting the perpetrators to their superiors or the authorities,” he said in a statement on Penang Goes Orange: Stop Sexual Harassment today.
At the moment, he said police also do not act on sexual harassment complaints and focussed more on with sexual assaults such as molest and rape that are likely to have physical evidence.
He also pointed out that the existing Code of Practice for the Prevention and Eradication of Sexual Harassment was both voluntary and only sporadically enforced in workplaces.
Ong also suggested that the new law expedite sexual harassment probes to lessen the trauma on complainants.
“Should such cases happen in schools, it is best if the culprit is blacklisted and banned from working with children in the future,” he said.
Venturing into sexual assaults, he also called for a sex offenders registry to be made available for employment background checks and for this to also include data on interim protection orders (IPO) and emergency protection orders (EPO) issued in domestic violence cases.
“What we need here is protection for victims who fall prey to colleagues, acquaintances, mentors and other categories of predators including those who find their prey through the internet and social media,” he said.
At the moment, Ong said there was an underlying culture that minimised the severity and repercussions of sexual harassment.
He also called on more men to support campaigns such as the Penang Goes Orange: Stop Sexual Harassment to stop violence against women and children.
