I urge the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) to implement the Sexual Harassment Prevention Code across all higher education institutions based on the demands of student activist fronts to build a safer environment that guarantees students’ safety and fundamental rights.
On August 11, student activist fronts from the New Student Movement Alliance of Malaysia, including the University of Malaya Association of New Youth (UMANY), Voice of Youtharian (VOY), TAR Association New Youth (TARANY), held a joint press conference and submitted a memorandum to the MOHE. The student groups’ demands included implementing the Sexual Harassment Prevention Code in all universities and involving student representatives in the policy-making process.
The DAPSY National Varsity Affairs Bureau fully supports the student groups’ demand for implementing the Sexual Harassment Prevention Code and believes that a clear and proper code will provide an official platform for sexual harassment victims to lodge their complaints. At the same time, the university management must follow the stipulated SOPs based on principles of openness, fairness, and transparency in dealing with sexual harassment cases to ensure that justice will be served.
In fact, sexual harassment incidents are often heard on many campuses, including the recent ones in TARUC and the ongoing court case whereby a UM associate professor was accused of sexually harassing a student. Due to an absence of relevant codes and rules, the university management often investigated sexual harassment complaints in secrecy and, at times, even accused the victims of being oversensitive. This would lead to extra psychological harm to the victims, who were supposed to be assisted and supported in the first place.
Therefore, the DAPSY National Varsity Affairs Bureau calls upon the MOHE to pay attention to the sexual harassment incidents in universities, immediately investigate the complaints, and implement the Sexual Harassment Prevention Code across universities. Such efforts will help prevent similar incidents from happening again and ensure that students can study in a safe and secure environment free from sexual harassment.