SEMPORNA: Sexual harassment cases nationwide more than doubled in three years, rising from 477 in 2022 to 1,083 last year.
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said the increase could reflect either a genuine rise in cases or greater awareness encouraging more victims to come forward.
“There are two aspects we are looking at. When the numbers increase, to us it can show that awareness has increased.
“Secondly, it could be because the cases themselves have increased. So, either the increase is due to greater awareness or the cases are genuinely increasing,” she said here on Thursday (Sept 10).
Nancy was speaking after launching the Semporna Zero Tolerance for Violence programme organised by the ministry through the Women’s Development Department.
She said the ministry hoped the higher numbers were driven by greater awareness rather than an actual increase in sexual harassment incidents.
Police statistics showed 522 cases were recorded in 2023 before rising to 788 in 2024 and 1,083 last year.
As of May this year, 388 sexual harassment cases had been reported nationwide, including 31 in Sabah.
Nancy said stronger advocacy was important to help people recognise sexual harassment and prevent such behaviour from becoming normalised.
She also pointed to a growing number of men coming forward through the ministry’s advocacy and counselling programmes.
She said slightly more than 100 men came forward when the advocacy efforts first began, but the number later rose to more than 1,000 following expanded programmes, including outreach booths where counsellors were available.
However, Nancy clarified that the more than 1,000 figure referred to men who came forward through the ministry’s advocacy programmes and was not the number of police reports lodged.
“Sexual harassment can happen to men, not only women. Men can also use the Anti-Sexual Harassment Tribunal as a platform,” she said.
She said some people mistakenly believed the tribunal was only for women, although it was also available to men and children.
The government strengthened efforts to address sexual harassment through the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act 2022 (Act 840), which included the establishment of the Tribunal for Anti-Sexual Harassment as an alternative avenue for victims to seek redress.
As of August, 129 complaints had been filed with the tribunal, with 88 resolved.
Nancy said violence against women extended beyond sexual harassment, with domestic violence figures also remaining concerning.
A total of 7,116 domestic violence cases were recorded in 2024, rising to 7,391 last year, while another 4,014 cases were reported as of June this year.
She said the figures showed that women’s safety required collective and coordinated action involving the government, communities, families and other stakeholders.
The ministry, through the Women’s Development Department, is also carrying out the year-round Eliminate Violence Against Women (EVAW) campaign as part of efforts to end violence against women.
