KUALA LUMPUR: The Anti-Sexual Harassment Advocacy (AGS) programme of the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry (KPWKM) has received 25,251 participations this year.
Its minister, Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said the record participations through 65 programmes was organised in line with the Anti-Sexual Harrassment Act 2022 (Act 840) which was enforced in stages from March 28, was encouraging.
“Sexual harrassment is a crime which can effect not only to the victim but also the family and the surrounding as well as the productivity of an organisation resulting in the loss of potential talents,” she told Bernama after officiating the KPWKM Media Night at Flora Terrace Hotel here yesterday.
In the function, Nancy handed over 50 AGS notices to representatives of various government agencies and non-governmental organisations including Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) editor-in-chief Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin.
She said, the implementation of the KPWKM @ Advokasi AGS programme is also in line with the Employment Act 1955 (Amendment) 2022 which came into force on January 1 this year which also obliges employers to display notices about sexual harassment in the workplace.
Meanwhile, Nancy said the AGS programme throughout the country is aimed at providing exposure, convey information about KPWKM’s psychosocial assistance and services as well as disseminate the use of anti-sexual harassment guidelines and notices to the community.
Nancy said the AGS KPWKM advocacy needs to be widely shared with the community as a way to remind each other.
Earlier, the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act 2022 (Act 840) was passed in the Dewan Rakyat on July 20, 2022 and the Dewan Negara on Aug 11, 2022 and was enforced in stages from March 28. — BERNAMA