CHAPTER EIGHT: BALANCING ACTS BETWEEN THE POWERFUL AND THE POWERLESS: COPING WITH SEXUAL HARASSMENT AMONG MALAYSIAN PUBLIC EMPLOYEES

Noor Azima Ahmad & Jariah Masud

8.0 Introduction

In 2015, in Kosovo, Kamberi & Besim (2015: 580-92) discuss the Kosovo angle of sexual harassment of the working-class women, which is not too different from the Malaysian experience. But in Malaysia particularly, someone at the office whistles when you walk by, makes lewd gestures, and loves sending you emails with highly inappropriate words and adult pictures attached. Words uttered are like those spoken between lovers, or else they are unwelcome comments on your body parts. To show your open-mindedness, you paste a smile on your face and keep the irritation at bay. “Take it like a sport”, you say to yourself. “It’s only a joke” smiling blankly, you keep on pacifying yourself. You have just started working and do not want to make a scene by complaining about the treatment you have to face daily. But the ‘jokes’ become rowdier and more frequent, more physical and psychologically tasking. It comes up to the point that you feel demean, threaten and do not feel like going to work in the morning. You keep wondering what have you done to deserve this, what should you do? What can you do to stop this, preferably without much drama?

According to findings from a major survey in the United States of America, if you have faced the above situation, most probably you,

1. are a woman, specifically a single woman or a divorcee between the ages of 20-44;

2. have a non-conventional job;

3. work in predominantly male environment or have a male as an immediate supervisor;

4. have attended college and some graduate school; and

5. have been working for fewer than 15 years.

The above scenario is quite close to any working woman’s heart: either because she has either experienced it herself, seen it, read about it or it happened to her friends, her sisters or her relatives at one time or the other. The Kosovo Police in its yearly “National Studies” release of the “2019 Research on Sexual Harassment and Assault” disturbingly reports that “81% of women and 43% of men reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment and/or assault in their lifetime”. Also, at least one in two women would experience some sexually harassing behaviour during her working life (Fitzgerald & Schullman, 1993). This Chapter deals with another manifestation of the unequal gender relationship that is translated via sexual harassment at the workplace. Whitehead (1981) believes that gender relations are socially constituted and actually the product of historically specific forms and relations between men and women in the family and society. These historically specific forms differ from one person to another, from culture to culture, including when it touches on sexual harassment. The Chapter describes what victims of sexual harassment face in the public workplaces in Malaysia and what they did to maintain equilibrium caused by sexual harassment. It is very important for us to understand what sexual harassment actually is, why it happens and what are some ways to cope should you or your loved ones face it. This is because studies have shown that with increased participation rates of women in the workplace, incidences of sexual harassment towards women would be unavoidable.

Here are some facts: Sexual harassment is considered very rampant with many countries around the world legislating sexual harassment as a serious misconduct (Levesque, 2000). Just google sexual harassment and you would get the extensiveness of the discussion on it. Sexual harassment has gained recognition as a significant issue in discussions concerning gender relations over the past two decades (Wilson, 2000). Numerous researchers consider workplace sexual harassment to be a grave concern (refer to Dine & Watt, 1995; Sabitha, 1999; Dorfman, Cobb, & Cox, 2000; Zarizana & Cecilia, 2001), possibly the most prevalent occupational hazard. Some experts perceive sexual harassment as an extension of societal sexism (Murrell, Olson, & Frieze, 1995), equating it to other forms of violent sexual assault like rape (Gutek & Koss, 1993). Such behaviour infringes upon the well-being of workers, leading to adverse emotional, social, and physical effects. Research also indicates that sexually harassed employees experience increased absenteeism, negative work attitudes, and decreased productivity.

Reflecting the severe detrimental impacts of sexual harassment, supported by evidence from various countries, the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action recognises it as a form of violence against women. The United Nations urges member states to proactively combat this type of violence, aligning with the principles outlined in Articles 3 and 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which state...

Everyone has a right to life, liberty and security of person and no one shall be subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

In Malaysia, the act of sexual harassment violates Article 8(2) in the Federal Constitution that reads “there shall be no discrimination against citizens on the ground of religion, race, descent, place of birth or gender …”. It should be clearly noted that harassers and harasses come in both sexes, and sexual harassment happens between sexes and within sexes. However, great majority of situation involves one or more male harassers and a lower-rank female harassee (Foulis & McCabe, 1997; Welsh & Gruber, 1999). And it can happen anywhere, not only at the workplace. Most researchers believe that sexual harassment is about power. Is sexual harassment really about showing dominance over the other? If yes, with the current spectacular rise of women to the top of the management ladder and in more powerful positions in the future, would it be possible that one day soon literature may show a surprising turn: women become the major perpetrators of sexual harassment? Then, ‘he’ would be the best pronoun in describing the victims of sexual harassment and for the good of mankind, let us try to avoid that by getting a deeper understanding of the phenomenon and peek into what is sexual harassment.

8.1 Defining Sexual Harassment

One of the problems in defining sexual harassment is the vagueness of the construct of sexual harassment itself. This is because perception and belief are learned everyday by members of a certain group, and becomes the norms acceptable to all members within that group (Bandura, 1977). Due to various differences in past experiences and upbringing, Barry (2002) in support of Bandura, points that it is important to be aware that an event perceived as threatening by one person maybe a challenge to another, and perceived by a third person as quite normal. Personalities, cultures and socialisation (Roziah, 1994) frame one’s belief and provides the framework for society to work; either inhibiting or fostering certain acts. Because of cultural expectations, victims of sexual harassment may be forced to act against their wishes, in order to maintain the status quo of the work environment.

Because of the above arguments, there has been no standard definition of sexual harassment per se. What is universally agreed upon by most countries and researchers is that sexual harassment is unwanted and unwelcomed sexual conduct which often leads to a hostile and intimidating environment. Fitzgerald et al. (1995) characterise sexual harassment psychologically as “unwanted sex-related behaviour at work that is appraised by the recipient as offensive, exceeding her resources, or threatening her well-being” (p. 128). Sexual harassment may be divided into two categories, namely sexual coercion (direct consequences to the victim’s employment) and sexual annoyance (has no direct link to any job benefit). As in any other gender related violence, researchers agree with Lengnick-Hall’s (1995) view that sexual harassment should be perceived through ‘the eye of the beholder’ or the reasonable woman standard (Wagner, 1992). This standard is used in a number of courts in the United States of America which is a reflection of judicial recognition of the fact that men and women tend to view gender violence including sexual harassment, in very different ways.

Research have proven how a trivial and harmless incidence viewed by a reasonable man be seen as quite serious by a reasonable woman (Kanekar & Dhir, 1993). Because of the cultural differences, discussions on sexual harassment should take into consideration the types of actions to be considered as sexual harassment. The United States’ Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) considers rape and sexual assault, wage discrimination and unlawful termination as part of the whole spectrum of sexual harassment. In contrast, Malaysia currently has no exclusive act for sexual harassment but in the process of incorporating that into the Employment Act 1955, but has specific clauses for rape and sexual assault in the Penal Code. In addition, wage discrimination and unlawful termination fall under the jurisdiction of the Employment Act 1955, and the Industrial Relations Act 1957.

8.2 Theorising Sexual Harassment

In trying to understand gender and social interactions, one needs a focus of analysis. Thus, let us see some theories that have been used in discussing sexual harassment at the workplace. Power, Structural, Individual and Gender Ideology theories are some of the most quoted ones. In the Structural Theory, the proponents believe that the differences in men’s and women’s attitudes/behaviours are the product of their different and unequal roles in the workplace. Features of the organisation and the office environment/organisational climate predominantly occupied by male officers, emphasises the existence of opportunities to commit sexual harassment as it is found to be rampant among male towards female workers. Another area touches by the Structural Perspective’s proponents in discussing sexual harassment incidences is that victims are new entrants of the workplaces and majority of victims concentrated at the lower levels of the organisations. Most victims are young women, relatively powerless and have comparatively limited knowledge of the workplace’s culture and networks (Trafford, 1993; Stockdale, Visio, & Batra, 1999).

Power Theory proponents believe that the majority group members who occupy the positions of power at work continuously try to maintain their dominance. This is easily done by eliminating people who have different traits than them, including the opposite sex. The theory assumes that women are often excluded from the formal and informal power structure, thus reinforcing their powerlessness at the workplace (Smith, 2002). Women who manage to join this power structure, on the other hand, try to ignore the powerless ones as to maintain their acceptance within the group. This also done as studies have shown many women considered other women as their competitor, thus, should not be helped (Vincent & Seymour, 1995). Hence, the inception of the ‘Queen Bee’ concept.

The Individual Theory addresses organisational decision as images develop among people, become shared as a result of similar experiences, or are simply a function of organisation-wide images. Organisations is said to exert influence on decisions by introducing standard practices, establishes communication channels, and provide extensive socialisation to members (Miner, 2002). In sexual harassment, this could explain why most victims choose to report harassment only when it becomes too severe for them. Standard practices, communicating channels and extensive socialisation of what the `right’ decisions to take overcome individual standards. The underreporting is an attempt to guarantee the status quo of the standard that has been agreed by many within the organisations.

The common theme in all these theories is that sexual harassment is seen as a manifestation of the power imbalances between men and women. Gardner (1980) believes that not only men want to rule, they also take measures to legitimise their reign. Despite modernisation, there is not much change in people’s expectation towards both sexes: the gendered expectations for boys and girls. Thus, Gender Ideology Theory posits that gender typed individuals are uncomfortable with and avoid situations requiring cross gender behaviours. Sociological explanations of sexual harassment center around the patriarchal norms and stereotypes that grant men dominant status in society. These explanations highlight how gender roles serve as status characteristics that give men the power to engage in the harassment of women. In this context, societal norms and expectations reinforce and perpetuate unequal power dynamics, enabling men to exert control and authority over women, including through acts of sexual harassment. By examining the influence of these patriarchal norms and gender roles, sociologists seek to understand the underlying structural factors that contribute to the occurrence of sexual harassment. Smart (1987) justifies sexual harassment by men as normal and desirable for them as their roles accorded them the sexual predator roles. Simply put, males are supposed to be masculine and born to harass and females must be in feminine modes and are supposed to be submissive.

8.3 Scrutinising Sexual Harassment

In order to understand the experiences of sexual harassment: to examine how women cope and the factors influencing their choices of coping strategy, a study was conducted as a partial requirement for a Master’s of Science in Human Development (herewith refers to as the Study). It is pertinent to share the portraits of the Study and of the respondents to enable a better understanding of the whole story of negotiating the balance when sexual harassment occurs. A total number of 16 female Malay administrators in the Administrative and Diplomatic Service participated in this qualitative study using the case study correlate. Respondents were recruited via the snowballing technique. All of the respondents have basic degrees in various fields with seven (7) having Master’s degrees. At the time of the interviews in 2005, the youngest participant was 25 and the eldest 36 years old with eight (8) already married, and the rest were still single. The Study is retrospective in nature, where respondents were asked to relay their previous experiences. The harassment period ranges from a few months to four (4) years. At the time of the interviews, some respondents were still facing harassment. For others, they were recalling experiences they had faced with the incidences taking place within the last five (5) years of the interview. In-depth interviews were undertaken with the respondents, with triangulation done with observation, interviews with family members and close friends. To compliment those, comprehensive document reviews were done on related official documents, besides interviews with key informants from the Public Service Department of Malaysia and several relevant non-governmental organisations. Analysis for the coping strategies under discussion here was conducted by using the framework of coping as mentioned by other researchers as a guide, while adhering to the basic paradigm of qualitative research method where the data dictates findings. The findings were presented thematically. Let us see what we could learn from the stories of these Malay women on how they coped, which forms part of the whole findings.

8.4 Coping with Sexual Harassment

According to Lazarus and Folkman (1984:178), coping can be defined as the ongoing cognitive and behavioural efforts individuals make to manage specific external and/or internal demands that they perceive as overwhelming or surpassing their personal resources. Coping mechanisms are the mind's way of responding to challenging or threatening situations. Psychologists consider coping to be a crucial element that influences an individual's potential for overall well-being. Ineffective coping strategies are identified as the primary cause of stress and, ultimately, mental disorders (Barry, 2002). The subsequent discussion will focus on coping and the various coping patterns adopted by the participants in the study.

8.4.1 Avoidance

The most used coping strategy is by avoiding the harassers. Like their sisters around the world, Malaysian women live in a patriarchal society with every aspect of their life is measured from a male worldview since they were young (Maznah, 2000). Foulis and McCabe (1997) reported that only 1-7 percent of victims made official complaints. These Malay respondents, maybe because of the way they were brought up, typically prefer to minimise negative behaviours and be blamed for the incidences (Levy & Paludi, 1995; Cecilia, Zanariah, & Maria, 2003). More importantly, the utmost important reason was because they feared repercussion since the harassers were of higher positions (Ragins & Scandura, 1995). Avoidance, however, is not without a cost to the organisation. Johnson and Indvick (2001) found that victims of poor behaviour from bosses, including sexual harassment, believe that they lost,

30 percent work time avoiding the harasser;

53 percent work time worrying about the incidents/future interactions;

37 percent less commitment to the organisation;

22 percent decrease their effort in work;

10 percent less time spent at work; with

46 percent contemplating changing job to avoid harasser; and

12 percent actually changing jobs.

With many among the respondents in the present study employing the avoidance strategy, it can safely be concluded that a considerable amount of their time at work was wasted unnecessarily to avoid the harassers. This directly affects their productivity and ultimately, affecting the quality of services provided to the public. A national survey reported that during a-two-year period from May 1985 through May 1987, sexual harassment costs the U.S. Federal Government an estimated USD12.267 million. The modest estimation is derived by calculating the cost of replacing employees who leave their jobs, of paying sick leaves, and of reduced individual and work group productivity; excluding personal cost and anguish. Moskal (1989) found considerable decreased work effectiveness, increased stress, and related health problem, increased absenteeism, and higher turnover rate as a result of sexual harassment. In totality, Moskal concluded that a typical Fortune 500 company losses USD6.7 million annually because of harassment, excluding the lawsuit cost. One can only imagine the total cost of sexual harassment in Malaysia, as underreporting is rampant, and the mechanism of putting the Ringgit sign to these incidences is yet to be put in place.

8.4.2 Social Coping

Researchers (Gutek & Koss, 1993; Fitzgerald et al., 1998) found that reliance on social support from friends, colleagues, and family members to be the next frequently used strategy, and is supported in the present study. In a widely discussed paper, Brown, Bhrolchain, and Harris (1975) found that the presence of one close, confiding relationship has a strikingly high protective effect against neurosis when an individual is faced with serious adversity. However, many of the respondents prefer not to let their family know about the harassment. Some victims are too scared to tell their family about the incidences of sexual harassment. This is consistent with findings from other research (Consumer’s Association of Penang, 1988; Rubin & Borgers, 1990; Collinson & Collinson, 1992; du Judicibus & McCabe, 2001; Wasti & Cortina, 2002) where society put the blame on victims of sexual violence (who are mostly women) for wearing certain sexy clothes, for behaving in certain ways, for smiling intimately, and various other reasons. In terms of the Malay respondents, another significant support came in the form of faith and religion. Half of the respondents in the present study turned to religion when they were harassed. This is because religion teaches human beings a system of moral values which guide their everyday relations with fellow human beings; providing a legitimate forum of a shared meanings and social practises (Wazir, 1998).

Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/delhi

8.4.3 Confrontation

Another strategy, confrontation involves opposition to the harassers. However, due to its status as being fairly assertive in nature, many of the respondents prefer to confront their harassers politely; that is more towards negotiating with them to stop. In the present study, only four (4) respondents admitted to confronting their harassers aggressively. For Respondent 5, she did it because he was of the same standing within the Service, having no power over her service record. Thus, when things got out of hand and after numerous times asking him to stop, she told him pointedly and repeatedly that he was crazy. For Respondent 5, the continuous torture made her stood her ground, regardless of what he would do. His non-stop sexual chatters made her loose her patience and strike back despite knowing the fact that he could well put a dent in her career and reputation. It is a well-known fact that subordinates in the public sector is expected to follow instructions without much ado. The boss did in fact picture her as a good worker but emotionally immature to other bosses. He proceeded to give her a bad review for the year.

8.4.4 Advocacy-Seeking

Even in the United States, most evidence suggests that few victims ever file formal sexual harassment complaints (Fitzgerald et. al, 1988). Thus, advocacy-seeking is the last strategy normally used in sexual harassment primarily because of fears of the individual or the organisational retaliation. The track record of sexual harassment complaint in both the private and public sectors in Malaysia has documented how the victims were further victimised by the system, both the judicial and the administrative sides. In the Study, Respondents 10 and 15 related their experiences about reporting cases of sexual harassment to their superiors. The reports were ignored. The case of Respondent 16 was even forwarded to the knowledge of the PSD, but justice was not seen to be executed as no action was taken against the harasser. Unfortunately, these track records of victimising the harasees would make many more victims shy away from making formal complaints in the future, regardless of the Guideline as introduced by the PSD on sexual harassment. Unless proven by a test case, many would decline to report. This was the point forwarded by Respondent 10 who admitted that even though she was not the type to complain, she would do so if the reporting mechanism is put in place. Thus, this Study reveals how majority in a group of young educated female administrators decided against reporting because lack of proper reporting mechanism and because they were apprehensive of the outcomes.

In Malaysian public workplaces, victims of sexual harassment have a grievance channel with the introduction of sexual harassment Guideline issued by the PSD in 2005. It was lauded as much-awaited and could be considered a comprehensive guideline. However, the authors are sceptical of the inclusion of a clause on the impact of reports on alleged perpetrators who committed sexual harassment “dengan suci hati” or unintentionally. The Clause provides that, “(iii) sekiranya aduan yang dikemukakan adalah palsu, atau PYDM (Pegawai Yang Disyaki Menganggu) melakukan sesuatu perbuatan “ganguan seksual” dengan suci hati, maka aduan terhadap PYDM ….” (Emphasis added)

(Clause 11 (b) (iii), page 22, Circular 22/2005. PSD, Government of Malaysia).

Research has shown that by a certain age, human learn to respect each other’s personal space. By a certain age, too, most individuals grasp that the very persons who understand distancing for its implications to others are also the ones most likely to violate these codes for their personal gain (Scheflen & Aschraft, 1976). Furthermore, many research in Malaysia and worldwide found that sexual harassment victims refuse to report the incidences, much less to fabricate a single incidence as sexual harassment. Sexual harassment cases are normally underreported with only five (5) percent of cases went public (Fitzgerald & Schullman, 1992). It has been proven that in many cases, the victims only reported when all other venues have been exhausted and the harassment deemed too severe (Gutek & Koss, 1993; Wilson, 2000). Thus, in many countries, intent of harassers is irrelevant to the case and any sexual harassment case should be scrutinised using the reasonable woman perspective. Hence, such an inclusion of “dengan suci hati” or unintentionally committing sexual harassment could become the push factor to the victims to report sexual harassment. The clause could be used by the harassers to sidestep valid allegation of sexual harassment. It would, therefore, defeat the main purpose of the Guideline which is to protect the victims of sexual harassment. From the findings, several coping patterns emerged,

§ most respondents have avoided their harassers, and many preferred to keep quiet, only taking other assertive strategies as the harassment becoming more severe, and only considered officially reporting the incidents deemed too severe for them;

§ the more powerful the harassers were, the more these respondents preferred not to assertively confront them, what more to report the incidences;

§ the longer the respondents were in the Service, equipped with knowledge and certain amount of empowerment; they were more assertive in handling the incidents and used more assertive types of coping;

§ respondents’ upbringing, educational background, cultural expectation, previous experiences, and work environment contributed to the types of strategies used. However, the utmost concern in choosing a coping strategy is the effect it could cause to their professional and private lives;

§ going for professional help or seeing psychologists was not an option to these respondents; either because they believed the psychologists would not be able to help, or could be because the stigma still attached to the notion that only psychologically unbalanced people need to see psychologists; andmost respondents, except for three, have since left their place of work. It could signify the last resort to cope for the respondents without having to report the harassment and face more repercussions. This poses the question of how much the Government have lost in terms levels of productivity, in terms of expertise in specific fields, further hidden costs in training new staff to acquire the same level of expertise as the previous officer, and definitely the retraining cost of respondents at the new offices.

In summarising the patterns of coping strategies among the respondents, the researchers adapted the well-received criteria as put forward by Knapp et al. (1997), and Malamut and Offermann (2001), which is similar to the ones suggested by various researchers. Knapp et al. divide coping into four (4) categories that is: avoidance-denial, social coping, confrontation and advocacy seeking. For the purpose of this Study, another type of coping strategy, labelled `going along’, is added. It should be noted that the classification of cases into the four (4) categories is based on the highest level of coping strategies employed by the respondents over a certain period of time: some even lasted for years. A respondent, like Respondent 16 started by avoiding the harasser but toward the end, decided to seek help by officially reporting the harassment. Her experience is then classified as advocacy-seeking. Another aspect that should be stressed on is the fact that these respondents may have used a single strategy at one time, or simultaneously used a combination of strategies deemed best suited and most effective to them at that particular time. Table 1 shows the summary of the coping strategies employed by the respondents.

Table 1: Summary of Respondents’ Coping Strategies

Respondent/Coping

Strategies

Avoidance-Denial

Social Coping

i. Friends

ii. Family

iii. Religion

Confrontation

i. Personally

Politely

Aggressively

ii. Via Others

“Going Along”

Advocacy

i. Within own office

ii. PSD Off

Note: “X” denotes choices of coping strategies

This Chapter supports previous findings on sexual harassment that the most used coping strategy is avoidance-denial (Gutek, 1985; Gruber, 1989; Foulis & McCabe, 1997; Weiner & Gutek, 1999; O’Learry-Kelly et al., 2000; Malamut & Offermann, 2001; Sabitha, 2003) with all the respondents using this type of coping. Wasti and Cortina (2002) believe that the concern for harmony influences women’s decision to keep quiet. However, Perry, Kulik, & Schmidtke (1997) conclude passive responds to sexual harassment are problematic for various reasons. Among others, organisational authorities are unaware that such behaviour occurred and cannot take steps to stop it. Secondly, the harasser is not disciplined and therefore, does not learn that the behaviour is not appropriate. Thus, sexual harassment is most likely to escalate.

Central in the discussion of sexual harassment is power differential between the harassers and the respondents. Gutek and Morasch (1982:56) firmly believe that sexual harassment is “an exercise of power by one person over another at the workplace”. This view is shared by many in this field (McKinnon, 1994; Mizrahi, 2004). Wilson (2000) believes that women do not report the sexual harassment incidents because their feel powerless, hence so many cases go unreported.

In the Study, 14 cases were of higher-ranking male officers sexually harassing their much younger and junior female officers, normally under their supervision. The other two cases involved a higher-ranking female harasser and the same-rank harasser. Respondent 5 admitted that she lashed back openly at her harasser because of their similar standing in the Service and he had no direct power over her. Most respondents said since the harassers were their bosses, making reports could make the situation worse. This is consistent with findings of research in the `whistle blowing’ culture where victims are scared of reporting because of the repercussions (Perry et. al, 1997).

8.5 Empowerment Revisited

The above discussion has shown how some women in the Malaysian public service coped with sexual harassment. What can be deduced is that at the end of the day, each person is on her/his own when it comes to decision about sexual harassment. Some have shown how they coped effectively, and some ineffectively until ultimately, they chose to ask for transfers to protect themselves. Due to the intricateness of the social and gendered relationship among the key players involved in any instances of sexual harassment, most of these women preferred to keep mum and refused to report the occurrences. By doing that, they were actually practising the doctrine of condonation by not stopping the harassers and indirectly, allowing for more sexual harassment incidences to take place to themselves and to other women.

Contrary to the title of this Chapter that hints on the existence of the powerful and the powerless, victims of sexual harassment should stand up for their rights for a safe and secure working environment. Their employers must make the necessary arrangement to ensure that, simply because sexual harassment comes with a heavy cost to the organisation and ultimately to the nation. Most importantly, victims must be empowered because everything starts with them. Empowerment is the ability to choose one’s own path of life without any pressure, including a personal strengthening and enhancement of life chances, and collective participation in efforts to achieve equality of opportunity. The notion of women being ‘powerless’ is really outdated and obsolete in this age, especially when sexual harassment involves people with tertiary education. With all the advancements and achievements of women worldwide, it is high time women prove that they need to be respected as fellow human beings to men, as equal partners in developing the country, and as the significant others to men. Each woman has some levels of power within herself, she just needs to find a transformative way to use it, without hesitation. In order to do so, all women should be aware of their rights as human beings, as individuals, as workers and members of society. Unless and until that is instilled in every woman, sexual harassment and other gender related violence towards women will not be eradicated. Everyone must teach the younger generation and educate the older ones the virtue of respecting each other, regardless of sex. After all, as Tun Mahathir Mohamed (2000) accurately said it “...each of us have the responsibility to take care of the women, because who are women? They are our mothers, sisters, wives, daughters, granddaughters...”. If everyone thinks like that, there is hope for us all to have a more equal relationship based on respect and love to make this world a better place for all. So, the next time your rear is groped, scream your heart out and let the perpetrator knowit is totally unacceptable! Together, victims of sexual harassment can put a stop to that.

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