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Year: 2017

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Actively implement policies to tackle workplace harassment

This letter was originally published in TODAY Voices on 19 November 2017. 

Recently, women have been sharing on social media their experiences with sexual harassment and violence in response to the hastag campaign #metoo, and high-profile cases in Hollywood have been in the news, revealing that such harassment is common, especially in workplaces.

Studies show workplace harassment is associated with job dissatisfaction and disengagement, and result in higher turnover rates and absenteeism.  Poor handling of workplace harassment – for instance, where women have their complaints dismissed without proper investigation, or are threatened for raising complaints – only reflects badly on an employer.

Some victims of harassment, with no assurance that they will be taken seriously, simply silently leave their positions, contributing to staff turnover. Organisations lose valuable human resources as a result.

A safe and healthy workplace environment can only benefit all. Support for those who are harassed or bullied builds trust in the organisation. Establishing clear rules, policies and protocols allows employers to pre-empt issues and be in a better position to deal with them when they arise.

The first step employers can take is to implement recommendations from the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Workplace Harassment on how employers and employees can prevent and respond to workplace harassment. This document stresses the “importance of proactive management” and preventative training.

Yet in our experience, the take-up of this is low. Earlier this month, Minister for Manpower Lim Swee Say said that the Advisory is “not prescriptive” and the Ministry “does not track” the take-up rate. Out of the 800 complaints the Tripartite received in the last three years, “fewer than 5… involved allegations of sexual harassment”.

By contrast, the Sexual Assault Care Centre has received 158 complaints on workplace sexual violence in the last two years. Many of these clients have raised no formal complaint with their employers or any other authorities. Some victims will only have the confidence to come forward in response to a proactive assurance that they will be taken seriously. Such assurance is lacking at the moment.  

Moreover, some employers pressure their employees to sign non-disclosure agreements, which restrain them from speaking up about the problem after their departure.

Catalyse Consulting, our corporate training arm, has trained hundreds of employers and employees on what constitutes workplace harassment, and on best practices to equip them with the tools they need to address harassment, and thus create safer and more productive workplaces. We urge all employers to implement a comprehensive anti-harassment policy, to send a strong message to employees that they are well-equipped to support employees. The Government can also do more to promote awareness of its advisory on the subject.

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Register for “How Will You Handle Your Harveys?”, our upcoming panel by experts on workplace sexual harassment and employer responsibility here! 

Learn more about how you can take action against gender-based violence by taking part in Let’s Unite, our 16 Days of Activism campaign kicking off 25 November and attending #metoo, #nowwhat, a dialogue on violence against women in Singapore. 

How will you handle your Harveys?: Managing workplace harassment

There is a new climate. Employees are speaking up and tolerance for harassment is down. In the face of changing attitudes, companies cannot afford to wait until there is a crisis to put the right policies and practices into place.

Learn from experts on the best practices for creating a safe work environment and managing workplace harassment.

This event will be hosted by Bloomberg, in partnership with AWARE’s corporate training arm, Catalyse Consulting, and TSMP Law Corporation. Refreshments will be offered from 6pm.

Note: This session is ‘off-the-record’

RSVP here to ensure your spot!

Date: Monday, 4 Dec 2017
Time: 6pm to 8.30pm
Venue: 23 Church Street, 12/F Capital Square Auditorium, Singapore 049481.

SPEAKER PROFILES

Meena Anand is an experienced global HR professional with strong expertise in Organizational Development, Employee Relations and M&A. Currently she leads the Employee Relations and Conduct functions globally at Standard Chartered. In the past Meena has successfully held both senior generalist and specialist HR roles at Standard Chartered, Barclays and UBS.

Corinna Lim is Catalyse Consulting’s Director and AWARE’s Executive Director. Corinna has extensive experience advising and training on workplace harassment. She was involved in research on workplace harassment and advocating for legal protection against workplace harassment. In 2014, she worked with the Ministry of Law on the Protection of Harassment Act. Corinna has provided consultancy to organisations on managing workplace harassment, and has also advised workplace harassment victims on their legal rights. She also founded and ran a successful technology start up, Bizibody Technology, and practised law in Allen & Gledhill, Khattar Wong and Koh Ong & Partners.

Ian Lim heads the Employment & Labour team at TSMP. His practice covers advisory, transactional and contentious employment work, with a focus on non-competition, dismissal, data privacy, harassment, M&A employee transfers and industrial relations issues. Ian is the lead author for the Singapore chapters of “The Employment Law Review” and “Getting the Deal Through – Labour & Employment”, as well as the Employment chapter of “Law Relating to Specific Contracts in Singapore”. Ian serves as Chairman of the Law Society Civil Practice Committee, and is a Referee of the State Courts Small Claims Tribunals and a Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators.

CEDAW General Recommendation 35: New international standards for countries tackling violence against women

On 14 November 2017, the United Nations CEDAW Committee – which monitors compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women – launched new international standards for countries tackling violence against women, in the form of CEDAW General Recommendation 35 (GR 35).

As a party to CEDAW, Singapore is obliged under international law to end discrimination against women. GRs offer guidance on how CEDAW applies. The latest document updates the previous GR 19 on gender-based violence, setting out clear directions on how state parties, including Singapore, can fulfil its treaty obligations.

Gender-based violence is a form of discrimination against women. It is “violence that is directed against a woman because she is a woman or that affects women disproportionately”. CEDAW requires Singapore to take all necessary measures to end such violence.

GR 35 emphasises that gender-based violence is a social – not individual – problem. To eliminate it, it is critical to change social norms and stereotypes that support and perpetuate such violence. The document identifies, for example, the ideology of men’s entitlement over women, norms regarding masculinity, the need to enforce gender roles or punish “unacceptable” female behaviour. Below are some key recommendations and our analysis of how they may apply in Singapore:

1. Ensure that all forms of gender-based violence against women in all spheres, which amount to a violation of their physical, sexual, or psychological integrity, are criminalised. [Paragraph 39]

Situation in Singapore: This would mean, for instance, that Singapore must repeal marital immunity for rape.

2. Adopt and implement effective legislative and other appropriate preventive measures to address the underlying causes of gender-based violence against women, including patriarchal attitudes and stereotypes, inequality in the family… as well as to promote women’s empowerment, agency and voice. [Paragraph 34]

3. The integration of gender equality content into curricula at all levels of education both public and private from the early childhood on and in education programmes with a human rights approach; it should target stereotyped gender roles and promote values of gender equality and non-discrimination, including non-violent masculinities, as well as ensure age-appropriate, evidence-based and scientifically accurate comprehensive sexuality education for girls and boys. [Paragraph 35a]

Situation in Singapore: When asked by the CEDAW Committee about how Singapore teaches gender equality in schools, the Singapore delegation said that textbooks show women and men having access to a range of resources. However, this is distinct from specifically promoting gender equality as a core value. Moreover, the abstinence-based sex education adopted by public schools do not explicitly focus on gender equality, consent, sexual violence, negotiation around family planning or LGBT inclusion.

4. Awareness-raising programmes that… (3) dismantle the commonly held victim-blaming beliefs that make women responsible for their own safety and for the violence they suffer. [Paragraph 35b]

Situation in Singapore: A 2013 survey found that 1 in 10 respondents think women who are raped are often “asking for it”. 40% of respondents aged 18-39 and over half of respondents aged 40 and above agree that women who wear provocative clothing are “asking for it” and should bear responsibility for harassment. Public messages and crime prevention posters by the police focus on restricting women’s movement and advising them not be alone in public to avoid sexual violence, putting the responsibility on victims and not the perpetrators. The disproportionate focus on sexual harassment by strangers on public transport further adds to the sense of confusion, fear and guilt women feel when they are assaulted by someone they know (close to 90% of Sexual Assault Care Centre’s clients were assaulted by someone they knew). Public education that accurately reflects the reality of sexual violence, which the police also plays a critical role in, is necessary to address such victim-blaming attitudes.

5. Adopt and implement effective measures to encourage all media… to eliminate discrimination against women in their activity, including harmful and stereotyped portrayal of women or specific groups of women. [Paragraph 37]

Situation in Singapore: Gender stereotypes are rife in the media, including children’s media. In addition, positive depictions of LBTQ women are barred in local broadcast media, instead only allowing for damaging portrayals of these women to be depicted. This contributes to the normalising of discrimination and violence against LBTQ women. Media reports perpetuate prejudice about sex workers, leading to calls for crackdown on areas frequented by them, with attendant violence.

6. Provide mandatory, recurrent and effective capacity-building, education and training for the judiciary, lawyers and law enforcement officers… to equip them to adequately prevent and address gender-based violence against women. This education and training should include: … (b) the understanding of trauma and its effects… [and] include the intersectional discrimination affecting specific groups of women. [Paragraph 38b] 

Situation in Singapore: While efforts towards sensitivity training for the police – being the first point of contact – are a step in the right direction, gender-sensitisation and trauma training are needed for all actors in in all levels of the criminal justice system,For example, recently, in acquitting a man accused of sexually assaulting a 15 year old girl, the court found that the victim was not “prompt in her complaints” and that “there were no reasons for her not to confide in members of her family or her boyfriend..” This was despite the victim’s young age and the fact that the accused was the live-in boyfriend of her mother, and reveals a lack of understanding of how trauma can affect survivors’ decisions on reporting.

7. Establish and implement appropriate multi-sectoral referral mechanisms to ensure effective access of women survivors to comprehensive services, ensuring full participation of and cooperation non-governmental women’s organisations. [Paragraph 40e]

Situation in Singapore: The introduction of a one-stop centre allowing complainants to undergo forensic and medical examinations in a police station is a step in the right direction though its reach and hours are limited. More generally, healthcare services and the legal systems are not seamlessly integrated to serve survivors’ needs. For example, one can get a rape kit examination only if they have filed a police report. To create a victim-centric support system, there needs to be a wider multi-sectoral approach.

Our government has a responsibility to end gender-based violence on a systemic and institutional level – but we need individual and community action to make change, too! Learn more about how YOU can take action through our campaign, Let’s Unite: 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence!

Let’s Unite: 2) Take Action

Do what you’ve pledged.

Take action – by talking, learning or spreading the word about violence against women – and inspire others to do so as well. Start the ripple effect of change!

Depending on how you’ve pledged (as an individual or organisation), we’ve prepared a kit for you to make things easy – the copy and materials are yours for the taking!

I took the pledge as…

 

 

 

Let’s Unite: 1) Take the pledge

 “I’ve always wanted to do something.”
Well, here is one thing you can do right NOW.

Fill up the pledge form below – as an individual or an organisation – to do something during the 16 Days campaign. Get creative with it! If you’re enthusiastic to support, but have no idea where to start, we have ideas for you in the pledge form.

After you’ve pledged, we’ll send you an email by 25 November to remind you of your commitment!

Create your own user feedback survey

If the pledge form is not loading on this page, you can access it here.

Taken your pledge? Find out how exactly you can carry it out!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s Talk: #MeToo, #NowWhat

You might wonder after #MeToo, #NowWhat?

Through the recent online movement, #MeToo, thousands of women around the world – and in Singapore – came forward to have open and honest conversations about their experiences of surviving sexual violence. #MeToo has not only foregrounded the prevalence of sexual violence in Singapore, but also the silence surrounding the issue. At the end of the day, a hashtag can only go so far: the onus lies on us to take action every day.

 

Date: 25 November 2017, Saturday
Time: 4pm
Venue: Peranakan Museum, 39 Armenian St, S179941
Light refreshments will be provided.

Register here!

Please note that representatives of the media will be required to identify themselves prior to the event, and no photos/videos are allowed without explicit consent. We welcome reporting on the points and issues raised, but no names and identities should be included.

*16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence is a global campaign that calls on individuals, groups and organisations to stand together against violence against women by pledging their support and taking action from 25 November, the International Day of Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10 December, Human Rights Day.

Singapore fares worse in closing gender gap

An edited version of this post was originally published as a letter in The Straits Times Forum on 10 November 2017.

Singapore’s performance in closing its gender gap worsened this year, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2017. Ranked 65th out of 144 countries, Singapore slipped 10 positions from 2016. The slip was due in part to other countries improving, but also, more significantly, due to a poorer absolute score which may arise from women being increasingly found in lower-paying positions.

The gender parity score is based on performance in closing the gender gap in four areas – economic participation and opportunity; political empowerment; educational attainment; and health and survival. Singapore’s gaps are most prominent in the former two areas.

In economic participation, there was a distinct widening of the gap between women’s and men’s estimated earned income. At the same time, there was no change in Singapore’s gender gaps in labour force participation and wage equality for similar work, as well as the number of professional and technical workers.

Taken together, these numbers may imply that women as a whole earn less than men because they are increasingly in lower-paying positions. For example, the average monthly income of cleaners, labourers and related workers is $1,417 – the lowest compared to other occupations – and women are 59% of such workers. To manage caregiving responsibilities, which remain unequally shared, women also tend to work part-time, earning less as a result.

Further, the findings suggest that barriers remain to women’s career advancement and their opportunities for higher pay. The gender gap in the number of legislators, senior officials and managers is wide. These positions are higher-paying – the average monthly income of managers and administrators was $10,348 – but women only make up 37% of them.

On average, many countries did badly in terms of women’s political empowerment. Singapore ranked 101th in this area. The ascension of Singapore’s first woman President, while symbolically important, may not be a sign of improved broader access to politics for women as a whole. Looking at the presidential eligibility criteria, women remain severely under-represented in Cabinet and the other senior positions from which any future President might be drawn.

There is a clear need to address these gender gaps. Many other developed countries have specific governmental departments dedicated to addressing women’s rights and gender equality, including efforts to redistribute and better support unpaid domestic and care labour. We hope Singapore will take action to restore – and ultimately improve – our ranking.

Film screening of “Desert Flower”: Exploring the topic of female genital mutilation

By Reetaza Chatterjee, GEC Volunteer

On 13 October 2017, I attended an event organised by the Singapore Committee for UN Women in collaboration with Engaging Africa at the National University of Singapore to discuss the topic of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). The event kicked off with a screening of “Desert Flower”, a film based on the international best-selling novel of the same name by Waris Dirie, which tells Dirie’s inspirational story of growing up in a nomadic goat-herding family in Somalia, becoming one of the world’s most sought-after supermodels and subsequently being appointed a United Nations spokesperson for the elimination of FGM.

A lively panel discussion on FGM in the Singapore context followed, led by three speakers: AWARE representative and coordinator for a campaign for Muslim women’s rights, Gender Equality IS Our Culture (GEC), Filzah Sumartono; feminist writer, Sya Taha; and clinical sexologist, Dr Martha Tara Lee. Many in the audience were under the impression that FGM is essentially an “African problem”. It was eye-opening for me to find out that FGM, or sunat perempuan, as it is known locally, is also practiced in the Malay community in Singapore.

Sunat perempuan is usually carried out on girls before the age of two and is classified under the World Health Organization’s (WHO) classification as FGM Type I or FGM Type IV. According to Filzah, there are currently 6 private clinics in Singapore that offer this service for around $20 to $35 – but this is not widely known about outside the Malay community. Currently, there is no law banning the procedure.

Speakers explored how the term Female Genital Mutilation is politically loaded in itself. Merriam-Webster dictionary’s definition of ‘mutilation’ is to damage something severely, especially by violently removing a part. However, some within the Malay community prefer to use terms such as “female circumcision” or “cutting”, which do not come with the connotation of violence. Sya mentioned that from her conversations with young parents about the issue, most mothers and pregnant women either perceive sunat as a positive or do not really question the practice – it is seen as a rite of passage of sorts, something that just “needs to be done”, similar to male circumcision.

Dr Lee shared about how the trauma of male circumcision, especially when carried out on minors at a very young age, affects brain development and may hinder the body’s ability to experience pleasure in the future. While this was known research for male circumcision, she added that she “was sure that this would be similar for FGM”.

In the past, religious scholars and leaders cited sunat perempuan as a way to “ennoble the women” and “ensure that she is not aroused too easily”. This mindset still remains in the present day where the procedure is seen to prevent her from becoming “wild”. Filzah made a pertinent point about sunat perempuan essentially hypersexualising a child – the need to control a girl’s ability to express their sexuality at such a young age shows that she is already being viewed as a sexual being and this is being done at the expense of her rights to health, physical and emotional well-being and bodily autonomy.

Sya also spoke about the increasing number of young mothers who have done their research on sunat perempuan and do not wish to do it to their daughters. However, there still remains a lot of community pressure from older relatives and religious circles for parents to have their daughter undergo the procedure as a marker of Malay-Muslim identity, despite there being no mention of female circumcision in the Quran. This pressure is usually the greatest during the point of birth of the child and young mothers may either not have the support from their husbands to oppose the practice or may not know anyone who does the same.

It is only through community engagement that greater awareness can be raised on the issue, which will equip young parents with the knowledge to make an informed decision for the well-being of their children.