LAST Thursday passed like any other day for most of us in Malaysia — insignificant and forgettable, unlike Nov 11.
Every Malaysian online shopper knows the significance of Nov 11 and eagerly waits for its arrival, anticipating bargains galore.
So, what is the significance of Nov 25?
An online United Nations portal states it is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, where public events are coordinated and "iconic buildings and landmarks will be 'oranged' to remind citizens of the world of the need for a violence-free future".
Sadly, I did not see any significant public event being organised for that day in Putrajaya nor in Kota Setar.
A news portal did, however, publish a report on Nov 25 stating: "The Kuala Lumpur and Alor Star skyline will have an orange glow when the KL Tower and Alor Star Tower light up on Thursday night from 8pm to 11pm to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women."
United Nations resident coordinator for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Karima El Korri said that the lighting up of the two tallest telecommunication towers in Malaysia was part of a global campaign to "Orange the World".
Orange has been chosen to represent "a brighter future free of violence against women and girls".
Violence against women and girls manifests itself in many ways, including intimate partner violence (battering, psychological abuse, marital rape, femicide), sexual violence and harassment (rape, forced sexual acts, unwanted sexual advances, child sexual abuse, forced marriages, street harassment, stalking, cyber-harassment), human trafficking (slavery, sexual exploitation) and child marriage.
Published data showed that nearly one in three women has been abused in her lifetime (frequently by an intimate partner), 137 women are killed by a member of their family every day, and fewer than 40 per cent of women who experience violence seek help.
Ghada Waly, executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, said 47,000 women and girls worldwide died last year at the hands of intimate partners or family members.
Under the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women issued by the United Nations General Assembly in 1993, the term "violence against women" has been defined as follows: "Any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of
such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life."
United Nations Women executive director Sima Sami Bahous described gender-based violence as "a global crisis", adding that this type of violence "often goes unreported, silenced by stigma, shame, fear of the perpetrators and fear of a justice system that does not work for women".
Sharing the same sentiment, United Nations secretary-general António Guterres stated that violence against women "is not inevitable" and added that "change is still possible".
Referring to a United Nations long-term strategy in partnership with the European Union (called the "Spotlight Initiative"),
Guterres said: "Now is the time to redouble our efforts so that together, we can eliminate violence against women and girls by 2030."
To commemorate the arrival of the International Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women, on Nov 23, the Syariah Judiciary Department (which is the seat of the Islamic judiciary in Putrajaya) organised an online course on "Sexual harassment at the workplace".
The course was attended by judges and staff of syariah courts from all over the country.
A local women's advocacy group is urging the federal government to expedite the passage of a Sexual Harassment Act.
Although sexual harassment has been recognised by the Federal Court in Mohd Ridzwan v. Asmah (2016), and the term "sexual harassment" has been defined in the Employment Act 1955 following an amendment exercise under Act A1419, Parliament has not passed a comprehensive sexual harassment law.
Lastly, although victims of sexual harassment include men and women, at least six out of 10 victims are women.
The writer was a federal counsel at the Attorney-General's Chambers and visiting professor at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. He is now a full-time consultant, trainer and author
