Last August, the education ministry claimed that over 90% of bullying and sexual harassment cases in schools were resolved within 15 days.

It did not say how many cases the 90% translated to. Was this 15-day resolution a more recent phenomenon or within the past few years?

In its statement, the ministry said it was proactive in handling bullying and sexual harassment cases at all education institutions to ensure a “safe ecosystem for teachers, students and everyone in these institutions”.

Guidelines on managing bullying and sexual harassment cases together with new disciplinary rules for students would be issued while various initiatives for the enforcement of existing rules would be activated.

Three channels were set up for the public, school staff and parents to send information about bullying and sexual harassment cases. These comprised a bullying hotline, an email address, and the MOE portal.

Was the above information adequately publicised? What happens when cases are not satisfactorily resolved?

On Jan 5, a student of a district boarding school in Selangor failed to get her alleged sexual harassment case resolved by the school.

She alleged that a hockey teacher had sexually harassed her on two occasions in 2019 when she was 13 years old.

In November 2022, the student filed an originating summons against the 38-year-old teacher at the Shah Alam High Court.

She alleged that under the guise of discussing her performance in hockey, the teacher told her to pose in several positions while he took photos of her. When he tried to get her to pose for him a third time, she refused, and the teacher promptly deleted his requests which he had made via WhatsApp, she claimed.

She later discovered that another female student had suffered the same fate and had lodged a similar report.

Her family met various school officials and the school had allegedly admitted the teacher’s sexual harassment acts but failed to take appropriate action. Claiming her mental health had been affected, the victim sought damages from the teacher and 10 other defendants, including the school head, five members of the school faculty, the Selangor state education director, the education minister, the ministry and the federal government.

In his defence, the teacher denied the sexual harassment claim, calling her to the school’s sports room, and sending her WhatsApp messages.

So, how common is sexual harassment in Malaysian schools nowadays? Many students suffer in silence, and school authorities also fail to take appropriate action in order to save face. In most cases, they ignore the mental health and rights of the victim.

Do the school authorities and ministry recognise the damage inaction does to the young victim?

They must acknowledge that a sexually harassed person will suffer from poor productivity, low morale, and may fall ill and become depressed. Left unchecked, relationships at home, and between school friends may also be affected.

Failure to deal with such complaints promptly may also prove costly for the school, the education department and the ministry. It may be more expensive in the long run, with payments for damages and court costs. The negative publicity generated may further damage their reputation.

Students, both boys and girls, should not have to suffer sexual harassment at school, or be doing things from fear or from being coerced. More importantly, they should not have to suffer in silence.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.