BY JASMINE BADUN
KUCHING: In-house codes of conduct must be in place in every organisation to curb sexual harassment at the workplace.
Sarawak Women for Women Society (SWWS) president Margaret Bedus said every employee, from the highest level to the lowest, should adhere to this code of conduct.
She said it should outline what constitutes sexual harassment, the grievance and complaint procedure, disciplinary rules and penalties for the perpetrator, protective and remedial measures for the victim and promotional and educational programmes.
Margaret was reacting to a study by market research company, Ipsos in conjunction with International Women’s Day 2022 today which showed that 35 per cent of Malaysian women feel sexual harassment is the foremost issue faced by women in the country.
“Yes, we agree that sexual harassment is one of the topmost issues and challenges faced by women particularly in the workplace apart from sexual violence such as rape and domestic violence,” she said.
She added that there had been many proposals to minimise the incidence of sexual harassment.
“It cannot totally be wiped out for as long as there’s power imbalance between the genders,” she said.
As for SWWS, we have been continuously doing public awareness programmes as and when funds are available since the late 1990s, she said.
“Now we have our young, energetic team under the name of #bukansalahkamek to continue to raise public awareness on these issues,” she added.
