KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 — Several women had approached the police to file sexual harassment complaints against an individual but authorities not only failed to act on them but had ignored the women, rights group All Women’s Action Society (Awam) has alleged today.
In a statement, Awam said it had identified a few cases involving a sexual harasser who had obtained the personal information of several women from a public health clinic in the capital after posing as a doctor.
“These women had connected on Twitter and this revealed that their sexual harasser … had somehow obtained their personal information from the Ampang Health Clinic by posing as a doctor and enquiring about the women who had recently undergone a HIV screening there,” the group said.
The possible names of the man provided by Awam is being withheld pending Malay Mail’s verification of the allegation with authorities.
Awam added that a search of the alleged sexual harasser’s name and number online revealed that this was not his first time, as back in 2017, there were news reports of a similar nature, and of someone with the same modus operandi.
In a now-deleted Twitter thread, a 21-year-old woman said she lodged a police report against the sexual harasser, but police officers apparently laughed it off and told her that “no action is to be taken as long as the harasser does not disturb her”.
“Another victim also made a report but the police did not take any action as they claimed that it is not a criminal case. Another victim had approached MCMC for assistance but MCMC had said that they cannot take action without an order by the police,” it said, referring to the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission.
Awam pointed out that social stigma, trivialisation of the issue by the police, and the victim’s refusal to relive the traumatic experience are all contributing factors as to why victims do not lodge police complaints.
The group also said there were several breaches of duties in the case, as the Ampang Health Clinic in question had failed to protect the information on the personal health of the patients, as per the Personal Data Protection Act 2010.
It added that police also had a duty under Section 3(3) of the Police Act 1967 to file and investigate a complaint in order to uphold law and order in the country.
“Awam calls on the government to take the necessary steps to address this specific matter and the broader issue of sexual harassment properly. The government must look into setting up the IPCMC (Independent Police Complaint and Misconduct Commission) to address gaps in police enforcement.
“Aside from ensuring access to justice, this would also allow the police force to identify areas that require training and allow for better transparency and accountability to the public,” the group said.
It stressed that enforcement agencies like the police must not trivialise issues like sexual harassment and address each case with the proper attitude, respect and sensitivity that should be accorded to the victims.
According to Awam, the number of reported sexual harassment cases had been steadily increasing between 2013 and 2016, peaking in 2016 at 338 cases. However, in 2017, there was a huge dip in the numbers, standing at 267 cases.
