AWARE joins global movement with V-Day flash mob

SINGAPORE — Feb 14 used to be associated exclusively with romance, but St Valentine’s Day has taken a more militant turn in recent years.

It is now also internationally known as “V-Day” – a global movement to end violence against women and girls.

The Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) in Singapore staged a freeze mob in solidarity with the One Billion Rising global movement, which hopes to see one billion men and women from over 200 countries taking to the streets on V-Day in support of the one billion women who suffer from sexual and physical violence worldwide.

At the forefront of AWARE’s current campaign is SHOUT! (Sexual Harassment Out) – part of the organisation’s fight against sexual harassment.

The freeze mob involved some 60 public volunteers and 20 organisation members who froze for a minute at Raffles Place Green, concluding the flash mob yelling “Sexual Harassment Out!” before symbolically releasing a hundred SHOUT logo-emblazoned black balloons into the air.

AWARE’s helpline records and research studies over the past four years indicate that workplace sexual harassment is a growing yet invisible issue in Singapore. The main problem is that there is no official legislation to counteract workplace sexual harassment.

Ms Corinna Lim, Executive Director of AWARE stated: “Ideally, we would like to see companies voluntarily introduced their own policies. Many companies in Singapore do not have any policies at all against sexual harassment, so when there is an incident there are no clear guidelines on how to deal with it; there is no procedure. Human resources is lost, management is lost, and the victim is left isolated at the end of the line, traumatised… and even more so because there was no justice and no support from the people that she would have expected support from.

“We also want the government to encourage companies to implement these policies – either voluntarily in the form of a code that the government imposes, or as a law; in most countries there is legislation dealing with this. The bottom line is that there must be policies combatting sexual harassment.”

AWARE has participated in numerous closed door sessions with various ministries such as the Ministry of Manpower and the Ministry of Social and Family Development to address this issue.

Ms Kokila Annamalai, Communications Executive for AWARE commented: “One of the primary outcomes of the six-month campaign, which started on 25 November last year, is to get 3,000 signatures on our petition which we’d like to present to the government to encourage the implementation of specific laws and civil remedies to combat sexual harassment in Singapore. A second objective is to mandate companies in Singapore to have protection policies against sexual harassment in the workplace. We’re strongly advocating that legislation be introduced here.”

At the end of the campaign, AWARE will submit a research report supported by several addendums such as company pledges to commit to non-violence policies as well as a series of victim statements to elucidate on the extent of sexual harassment cases in Singapore, most of which go unreported to the authorities.

“An estimated 90 per cent of sexual crimes in general go unreported globally,” shares Annamalai. “This is largely due to victim blaming and the social stigmas attached to sexual violence issues. We aim to destigmatise and create a safe environment were victims can seek support.”

Volunteer for AWARE Sahar Pirzada recently moved to Singapore after completing her studies at UC Berkeley in the United States. Joining AWARE in December last year, she admitted: “I was really surprised by the lack of protection against sexual harassment in a business hub like Singapore. I was involved with human rights groups in the US, so I was immediately drawn to join AWARE’s campaign to advocate that legislation and corporate policies be introduced here.”

The campaign is not geared solely towards women; men are also involved. A participant in the freeze mob and year-long member of AWARE Sing Tay commented: “I’d really like to encourage more men in Singapore to become involved in campaigns like this. This is not just a women’s issue.”

It is estimated that one in three women on the planet will be raped or beaten in her lifetime. If you or someone you know has experienced sexual harassment dial the AWARE hotline 67790282.