Establishment of anti-sexual harassment support group timely, says Fatimah

KUCHING (Dec 12): The formation of the Anti-Sexual Harassment (ASH) Support Group is timely in the efforts to raise awareness of this “hideous problem” among the community at large, said Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah.

The Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Minister said the establishment of this support group will also play a role in helping victims of sexual assault, especially children, to seek justice.

She said the ASH Support Group is chaired by Assoc Prof Dr Aida Shafreena Ahmad Puad with the Sarawak Women and Family Department (JKWS) and Sarawak Social Council (MPS) serving as the secretariat.

“It started with a very small group of parents, families, and friends of child victims who were sexually abused in school by their teachers.

“The group registered as a non-governmental organisation (NGO) to provide support to families and the victims themselves,” she told a press conference after chairing the Third Sarawak Women and Family Council (MWKS) Meeting at Wisma Wanita here today.

Fatimah, who is an advisor to the NGO, said that currently, there aren’t many resources or support for the child victim because of the general tendency of society at large and school authorities to judge the child and sympathise with the perpetrator.

“There is a need for a holistic approach to tackling sexual violence in schools and institutions of higher learning.

“This NGO will assist the victims of sexual harassment and their families on actions that need to be taken after an incident; provide them with legal and moral support such as counselling; connect families to the relevant agencies as well as provide continuous training through training of trainers (ToT),” she said.

She noted that the support group, comprising of educators, psychologists, legal professionals, social workers and counsellors, will work closely with the police, Sarawak Education Department, universities and colleges.

“This NGO’s support services are not confined to child victims only, but we are also open to assisting others.

“We at MPS give our 100 per cent support to the establishment of this NGO. I myself have seen and found the input and success of the activities carried out by this support group,” she said.

On the meeting, Fatimah said there were nine main focuses which will be implemented next year, including anti-sexual harassment, women’s leadership, citizenship, poverty eradication and economic prosperity as well as Sarawak, an ageing state by 2028.

She said the meeting also discussed the celebration of the state-level Women’s Day 2024 which will be held on April 27 next year.

“Sibu has been selected as the host for the celebration,” she said, noting that the event will be held in April this time around due to March being the month of Ramadan.

She also said that one of the highlights of the celebration, themed ‘Sarawak Women in Innovation and Technology’, included the launch of a book entitled ‘Sarawak’s Women in Innovation and Technology’.

Among those present were Deputy Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Minister Datuk Rosey Yunus, the ministry’s permanent secretary Noriah Ahmad and Social Development Council executive secretary Dr Zufar Yadi Brendan Abdullah.