It gives me the greatest pleasure to pen a few words to preface the Johore Bar’s Sexual Harassment Awareness Campaign.It is indeed a proud moment in the history of our State Bar.

It would be remiss of me if I did not share the catalyst for this endeavour. It all started with the Kuala Lumpur Bar sharing, with the other State Bars, their efforts to raise awareness and procure the commitment of legal firms to eradicate sexual harassment at the workplace. This involved legal firms signing a pledge and adopting a proposed workplace policy.

The Johore Bar Committee, without hesitation, decided to lend our full weight behind this endeavour and launch our own campaign.

In the planning of this Campaign, the Committee and I delved into research on the laws of Sexual Harassment in the country. What we found was a hotchpotch of laws and rules that were severely lacking bite at best, and left victims without redress at worst.

Little reprieve was provided in the Federal Court decision of Mohd Ridwan bin Abdul Razak v Asmah Binti Mod Norwhich recognised sexual harassment as an actionable tort in Malaysia, thereby paving the way for monetary compensation by way of damages, which relief was previously unavailable. However, there is still lacking, the presence of a specific Sexual Harassment legislation in our country. 

In its research entitled Us Too? Bullying and Sexual Harassment in the Legal Profession which “provides quantitative confirmation that bullying and sexual harassment are endemic in the legal profession”, the International Bar Association conducted a global survey on the incidence of sexual harassment and the complaints mechanism in place in the various legal workplaces in the profession [“IBA Survey”].

Malaysia was one of the countries which participated in the IBA Survey, with 87 legal professionals responding to it. The vast majority worked in law firms. The results indicate that sexual harassment, although on a lesser scale globally, is indeed a problem in Malaysia and that a vast majority of the respondents worked in legal firms.

In the Malaysian context, the results indicated a lower incidence of sexual harassment in workplaces with policies as compared to those without. A specific legislation, carrying with them sanctions for such behaviour would only compliment and enhance the effectiveness of measures to eradicate workplace sexual harassment. 

Currently, there is no legal obligation on the part of the employer to incorporate sexual harassment polices and training as part of its good governance. The much needed legislation could make mandatory the incorporation of such measures, again at the pain of sanction.

It is understood that the tabling of the Sexual Harassment Bill has been delayed, this delay evoking a call on the government by the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) “to commit to a clear timeline to table” this Bill.

Legal professionals are considered the defenders of human rights, speaking out against and protecting the victims of such transgressions, championing the rights of the abused, the discriminated. It would, undoubtedly, be bigoted of our profession to then a turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to incidents of sexual harassment within our esteemed profession.

The absence of specific sexual harassment legislation should not be an impediment to doing what we can, as professionals, to safeguard our workplaces from incidents of sexual harassment. In the meantime, we can implement sexual harassment policies and actively pledge to do our part in combating sexual harassment of any form within our workplace. I urge you all to respond in great numbers, signaling our united stance against sexual harassment.

This initiative by the Johore Bar Committee is to put in place an avenue for the submission of such complaints, providing guidance and assistance in moving forward with a sexual harassment complaint. 

It is a good place as any to start the movement towards eradication of sexual harassment within our legal profession.

SHAHAREEN BEGUM ABDUL SUBHAN

CHAIRMAN

JOHORE BAR COMMITTEE

Credit:-

Us Too? Bullying and Sexual Harassment in the Legal Profession – International Bar Association

Womens’ Centre for Change – Sexual Harassments Myths & Facts