Sexual

Harassment at
the Workplace
Created By:

•Nursuhadah Binti Moahamad Ramdzan

•Nor Haslizah Binti Samsuddin
 DEFINITION
• SEXUAL HARASSMENT is defined as
“unwelcome sexual advances, requests for
favors and other verbal or physical
conduct of a sexual nature that takes
place under any of the following
conditions:

• submission to such conduct is made either

explicitly or implicitly a term or condition
of an individual’s employment
• submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is
used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such
individual.

• Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably

interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating
an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.
 Forms of Sexual Harassment
• Verbal - Words, comment, joke, prank,
sound and questions in the form of threats
or sexual suggestions.
 Intimidation or Threats

•“Quid pro quo”

•“something for something”
•“you scratch my back I
scratch yours”
• Non-verbal / signal - Opinion or cast a
signal/ non-verbal impla an intention or
desire, lick the lips or eat foodwith how to
seduce, hand signals or sign language
suggests that sexual behavior and other.
• Visual disturbances - Showing
pornographic materials, drawing obscene
pictures, writing letters based on sexual
and other.
• Psychological - Repeat the invitation that
was not socially acceptable, persuade
persuasion continued and other. Like want
to kiss.
• Physical - Unwanted touch, tap,
pinching, stroking, brushing up
against the body and other.
 STATISTIC
• A study on victims and harassers in Johor Bahru in
2004.

• There are 12 bahavioral about sexual harassment:

– Sexual harassment is common that over 50% of the victims

themselves.
• Behavior is touch 60%
• Receive phone calls based sex 58%
• Which based observed adult 62%
• Given the signal based adult 60%
• Listening to adult conservations 54%
• Reproved with words based on the
adult body 56%
• Exposed with material based sex
74%
• Joke prank using obscene language
74%
• Became the target of sexual
metaphor 66%
• Standing and sitting with close to feel
uncomfortable 68%
• Touch body parts like hands and not
difficult etc 52%
• Reproved the word sex is diffuse
sech as sweet love, two heart are not
sincere 52%
• There are also some behaviors that
are not frequent, is less than 10%
done
by perpetrators over victims.
• Behavior that includes kiss 2%
• Forced to accept sex invitation or
social 10 %
• Rewards promised to cooperate if the
sexual act based 2 %
• Back later requested more time
though or work there is no work to be
done 8 %
• Presented the gift based such as
intimate lingerie 4 %
• Forced to do physical relationship
sex 4 %
• Forced to accept social invitations 10
%
 Sexual harassment in the
workplace is generally into two
conditions, namely
Quid Pro Quo and the
environment is causing the
threat
• Quid Pro Quo is a condition where a
person of high rank and has the power to
control employee (victim) to act or sexual
harassment of subordinate employees.
•The employee shall comply with the
requirements of subordinate perpetrators
because victims will feel depressed if not
compliant to the requirements of
stakeholders so that victims themselves will
find a way out such as leave request, the
victim will stop working or stopped working
by the perpetrators.
Environment that is causing
the threat
• While the second is the environment that
pose a threat is meant sexual harassment
committed against victims who should not
touch such as, use of obscene language or
obscene signals and the like.
 PENAL CODE
• Section 354: Outraging modesty
– assault or use of criminal force to a person with intent
to outrage modesty

• Section 375: Rape – intercouse with a woman

– against her will,
– without consent ,
– with consent but consent obtained under threat, or
under a misconception, or when the women was
unable, to understand the consequences
– women under 16 years of age
• Section 509: Words or gesture intended to
insult the modesty of a woman

– words, sounds or gestures

– exhibits objects

• Section 498: Enticing or taking away or

detaining with criminal intenta married
woman –( illicit sex)
 EFFECTS
PERSONAL IMPACT
•For the victims, it often produces feelings of revulsion,
disgust, anger, and helplessness. It damages the victim's
health. It results in emotional and physical stress and
stress-related illnesses.
•Victims may experience severe emotional trauma, anxiety,
nervousness, depression and feelings of low self-esteem
(Code of Practice on the Prevention and Eradication of
Sexual Harassment in the Workplace, The Ministry of
Human Resources, Malaysia).
•Some of the health effects, that can occur in someone who
has been sexual harassed as depression, sleeplessness or
nightmare, difficulty concentrating, fatigue or loss of
motivation and traumatic stress as Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder(PTSD).
 Some of the effects of sexual
harassment victim can
experience:
• Decreased work performance as the
victim must focus on dealing with the
harassment and the surrounding
dynamics and/or effects; psychological
effects or harassment can also decrease
work performances.
• Loss of trust in the types of people that
occupy similar positions as the harasser.
• Some of the health effects, that can occur
in someone who has been sexual
harassed as depression, sleeplessness or
nightmare, difficulty concentrating, fatigue
or loss of motivation and traumatic stress
as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD).
 ORGANIZATIONAL IMPACT
• Effects of sexual harassment on organizations
• Decreased productivity and increased team conflict
• Decrease in success at meeting financial goals (because of team conflict)
• Decreased job satisfaction
• Loss of staff and expertise from resignations to avoid harassment or
resignations/firings of alleged harassers; loss of students who leave school to
avoid harassment
• Decreased productivity and/or increased absenteeism by staff or students
experiencing harassment
• Increased health care costs and sick pay costs because of the health
consequences of harassment
• The knowledge that harassment is permitted can undermine ethical standards
and discipline in the organization in general, as staff and/or students lose
respect for, and trust in, their seniors who indulge in, or turn a blind eye to,
sexual harassment
• If the problem is ignored, a company's or school's image can suffer
 MEASURE TO OVERCOME
• In discussing issues related to sexual harassment, there are
many ways that can be taken to overcome and deal with this
problem. Although arise shyness and humility for the victims,
necessary for them to know there are several policies and laws
that help them.
• As a victim:
– The way that can be taken by the victim is tell the harasser that is
behavior is unwelcome and that you want to stop it.
– If the harasser continues, talk to someone in your organization who
could help you.
– must record the details of each event as date, time, location, what happened,
what was said, how you felt, and the names of any witnesses or others
victimized by this person.
 Complaint procedures:
• •Victim of sexual harassment should submit in writing of such
complaint to the Managing Director within 48 hours from the date of
occurrence and allow 4 weeks to investigate and take appropriate
action. (If the complaint is against the Managing Directors, such
matter shall be referred to the Management Committee).
• •Following the receipt of the complaint, the Managing Director shall
assign a Management Committee who is not a party in the
complaint to carry out a full investigation and to inform the victim of
the results of the investigation.
• •The Company shall maintain confidentiality of the report and the
details of the investigations to the fullest extent possible.
• •If the outcome of the investigation is not satisfactory, the victim may
then refer his/her complaint to the Ministry of Human Resources or
take up a personal law suit against the harasser.
• Source: Department of Labor, Ministry of Human Resources,
Malaysia.
 Organization Policy
• It is the duty of all managers to ensure that the company’s policy on
sexual harassment and any amendment or revision made from time
to time shall be brought to the notice of employees. All policy
statement will be regularly reviewed, revised as necessary and any
revisions brought to the notice of employees.

• “ It is the policy of Telekom Malaysia to provide a working

environment that is free from sexual advances, requests for sexual
……. and other verbal or physical conduct. Telekom Malaysia
stands firm against all form of sexual harassment in the work place .
An injury to one is lying to all. Dignity and respect for all workers is a
high priority Telekom Malaysia”. (Ministry of Human Resources,
Malaysia).
• It is the company’s policy to provide adequate
measures to create and maintain a workplace
that is free from sexual harassment. The
company requires all employees to cooperate
with the management in maintaining a safe
working condition, and to prevent and avoid any
situation or action that could be construed as
harassment, humiliation and intimidation of a
sexual nature to themselves and to others.
 Goverment
• The Industrial Court declared that sexual harassment at
the workplace is an offence and set out there is an
implied essential term of all contracts of employment and
that an employer has the obligation to respect an
employee’s dignity.
• Such a decision of the court is significant in the industrial
jurisprudence of Malaysia, since it is a great departure
from the earlier stance on the issues of sexual
harassment at the workplace, where the victim’s veracity
is assumed to be linked to her ability to react and go
through the procedures like making a police
report( Zeenath Kausar: 2005).