Aware expresses support for 2 women who accuse ex-NMP Viswa Sadasivan of sexual harassment

• The former NMP had allegedly made inappropriate comments to the two women
• They spoke out about their experiences online earlier this week
• Some online commenters have hurled insults at the women
• Aware called on Mr Viswa to categorically denounce the attacks against the women
• In his reply, Mr Viswa urged netizens to stop using 'extreme' language

SINGAPORE — The Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) on Sunday (Feb 7) expressed support for two women who shared their experiences of alleged sexual harassment by former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Viswa Sadasivan.

The association also called on the presenter to speak out against those who had attacked the women for speaking out.

Its statement comes after the women, stand-up comedian Sharul Channa and doctoral researcher Kiran Kandade, had earlier this week alleged that the ex-NMP had made sexually inappropriate comments to them in a professional setting.

In a Facebook post on Thursday night, Ms Sharul recounted what she experienced that day just before her appearance on the sociopolitical programme Inconvenient Questions, which is hosted by Mr Viswa. She was due to speak on women’s issues.

Before the interview, Mr Viswa was said to have asked Ms Sharul why she was wearing a rose brooch, to which the comedian replied that she had put it on to distract people from the pattern on her top.

According to Ms Sharul, Mr Viswa then replied: “It would be more distracting if you were wearing only that rose”.

Ms Sharul wrote in her post: “I was taken aback by this innuendo. It was inappropriate and offensive.”

She added that Mr Viswa later “apologised unconditionally” to her over email for “causing discomfort, offence or hurt, even though it was unintended”.

Responding to Ms Sharul’s post, Ms Kiran wrote in the comments section about her experience with Mr Viswa in March, 2016, while seeking consultancy and training work from him.

Posting a screenshot of a WhatsApp conversation between them, Mr Viswa appears to have asked Ms Kiran if his “proposition to kiss passionately” had offended her.

In a separate comment, Ms Kiran added: “I have many more such texts and tales of encounters with him.”

“There’s a lot more he said to me to my face when I went for meetings with him — how he’d like to kiss me, how he’d like to ‘do things’ to me,” she wrote.

Commending the two women for speaking out about their experiences, Aware said “these cases raise important points about women’s experiences of workplace sexual harassment”.

“It is not easy to speak up on the spot,” it added. “Often, the harassment happens quickly, and the recipient is taken aback, unsure about what they heard or so offended that they are at a loss for words.”

Aware said that the two women’s experiences show how stressful and discomforting the “more subtle forms of workplace harassment can be” and how difficult it is to identify the type of harassment they are experiencing.

Noting that some online commenters have defended Mr Viswa, and cited as an example of his good conduct his support for women’s rights and Aware, the organisation said there are many people who harass other women despite believing in gender equality.

“There is no simple binary of ‘good, honourable people’ and ‘bad, misogynist harassers’,” it said.

Aware also called on Mr Viswa to categorically denounce the insulting comments some have made against the two women, pointing out that some commenters have called the women “loose” and accused them of inviting the sexual harassment on themselves.

When contacted, Mr Viswa referred TODAY to a comment he wrote on Aware’s Facebook post.

In his reply, he said the women’s rights group had made some important points and that the episode “has been a learning experience”.

“I am generally adverse to vitriol and think that what Aware is asking for is reasonable,” said Mr Viswa.

“I do urge that we desist from using extreme language in putting down views expressed by Ms Channa, Ms Kandade and others on this Facebook page.

“In fact, I urge that we use this opportunity to hear each other without the need to suspend civility.”