Sexual Harassment Act In Malaysia
Inquiry into complaints of sexual harassment 81c.
Sexual harassment act in malaysia. It is also a form of discrimination. Short title and application 2. Jason ong is the assemblyperson for kebun bunga.
Presently there is no special and comprehensive law on sexual harassment in malaysia. Sexual harassment laws in malaysia. While there is no sexual harassment act per se in malaysia at the moment there are legislation and guidelines such as the penal code act 574 employment act 1955 the code of practice on the.
Since 2000 wcc has been spearheading the joint action group for gender equality jag to campaign for a sexual harassment law for malaysia. And unfortunately shame and silence has allowed sexual harassment in malaysia to thrive. To begin with there is no particular legislation in malaysia that is tailored specifically to eliminate workplace sexual harassment despite the continuous calls for better.
Laws of malaysia act 265 employment act 1955 arrangement of sections p art i preliminary section 1. Tackling workplace sexual harassment. Often the workplace culture and policies are complicit in silencing and not supporting victims.
Malaysia will certainly benefit from having a sexual harassment act based on its own unique cultural and social background. Harassment in the work conditions or working environment on the basis of race is intended to cause or has the effect of causing physical mental or emotional distress at the workplace. The malaysian legal system offers limited recourse for sexual harassment be it at the criminal labour or administrative level.
B sexual harassment such harassment refers to conduct or behaviour that is of a sexual nature. Sexual harassment is covered under part xva employment act 1955 but it has limitations. This is interpreted in section 2 of the employment act 1955 as.
Malaysia s deputy prime minister dr wan azizah wan ismail said there was still a certain stigma attached to victims reporting such cases. To date sexual harassment in the malaysian legal context is usually discussed in the context of the work space. Sexual harassment section 81a.
Section 509 of the penal code which criminalises the offence of insulting the modesty of a woman with a custodial penalty of up to five years has been regarded as not sufficiently wide to encompass all the elements of sexual harassment. In april 2012 the employment act 1955 was amended to require employers to inquire into complaints of sexual harassment.