Sexual Harassment In The Workplace

Repeatedly calling a person "sayang" and flirting with colleagues are acts that are frowned upon in a professional work environment. However, do these acts actually amount to sexual harassment?

In a survey by Women's Aid Organisation, 62% out of the 1,010 Malaysian women surveyed reported that they experienced some form of sexual harassment in their workplace.¹ The #MeToo Movement, a movement intended to encourage people of all genders to speak out on their sexual harassment encounters, has been gaining momentum in Malaysia with employees increasingly using social media to speak up about their sexual harassment in their workplaces.

It is no longer an option for employers to be ignorant of allegations of sexual harassment occurring in the workplace. In this article, we explore what amounts to sexual harassment in the eyes of the law and how sexual harassment complaints should be managed.