The Malaysian Insight

A RECENT survey on whether women feel safe has found that the majority of women ages 18 to 30 have experienced one form of sexual harassment or another.

The respondents said they were sexually harassed while going about their day-to-day activities like walking to their car or on the streets, and did not feel safe even to seek treatment from male doctors.

They also felt like their safety was threatened when doing certain things like driving at night alone or going to the cinema by themselves, according to a national sexual harassment survey of 1,056 women aged 18 to 30, from August 24 to September 15.

The survey was a collaboration between the Centre for Governance and Political Studies and the All Women’s Action Society.

Of the total surveyed, 57% of women experienced verbal sexual harassment while walking on the streets, while 22% said they have been harassed at least once.

Some 71% said they have had to change their travel routes or routines due to fear of sexual harassment.

A further 68% said they do not feel safe driving alone at night, 17% said they do not know, while 15% said they feel safe.

At least 25% said they have been followed home once and 21% said they have experienced being followed to their car.

Fifty-two per cent of respondents said they do not feel safe alone in a cinema, 37% said they do feel safe, while 11% said they do not know.

Ten per cent of women said they had been harassed and assaulted in confined spaces such as lifts, while 57% said they have experienced unwanted touching on the knee or lower back.

Some 18% said they have experienced unwanted touching or sexual provocation from a family member, 3% said they did not know, while 79% said no.

In the medical context, 37% said they have felt unsafe while being treated by a male doctor, 11% were uncertain and 52% said no.

In terms of sexual content, 44% said they have experienced their teacher making sexually provocative jokes, while 30% said they regularly receive unwanted sexual messages on social media.

Meanwhile, 41% also said they have received a sexual message at least once.

Cent-GPS and Awam said while this is only a preliminary survey, “every question should be an eye-opener for leaders and the male population”.

“Regrettably, many men will never relate to the fear of watching a film alone or having to drive alone at night.

“We live in two separate worlds, where the normal activities of half the population becomes a privilege for the other half,” they said.

“As we strive towards becoming a developed nation, it’s not enough that we obtain high income status. You can earn RM10,000 a month, but what’s the point when you can’t visit any doctor you want.”

The survey was conducted through a computer assisted personalised interview method in a language of the respondents’ preference.

The composition of the respondents were 79% Malay and 21% non-Malay. Some 78% of respondents earned a monthly income of less than RM2,000, 15% earned between RM2001 and RM4000, 4% earned between RM4,001 and RM6,000, and 3% earned more than RM6,001.

The survey’s results come as women’s rights groups once again urge the government to table and approve an anti-sexual harassment bill.

Last week, the Joint Action Group (JAG), a coalition of 14 women’s rights organisations in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak, reiterated that sexual harassment laws are inadequate, creating the need for the proposed bill.

Existing sexual harassment laws are mainly focused on employment scenarios and do not cover other situations where sexual harassment can occur. – September 21, 2021.