An insightful talk by CGU and Public Service Department

Poster of the talk

Alongside the “Don’t Suffer in Silence” talk series, another talk titled Are You One of Them? was organised in conjunction with the Sexual Harassment/Abuse Awareness Week. The talk was held on 30 May 2022 via Microsoft Teams. Invited to conduct the talk was Deputy Director of the Division of Psychology Management of the Public Service Department Dr Azura binti Hamdan.

The talk began with Dr Azura explaining the indicators of sexual harassment. She stated that there are three aspects to consider which are: 1) it must be unwanted, 2) has a sexual nature, and 3) the victim has feelings of discomfort. She then pointed out why sexual harassment matters from the psychological perspective, “The careers of those who are experiencing sexual harassment in the workplace could be in danger because their performance could go down as a result of the sexual harassment, or they could resign if it is too overbearing. For the perpetrators, they could also potentially face career uncertainty or other issues like marriage conflicts and poor mental health, even if they are found to be not guilty as the damage is already done. In regards to the organisation, their reputation can take a hit, especially if the victim spreads the news on social media after company inaction.”

Dr Azura conducting the talk

Dr Azura then talked about various topics, including the methods and dilemmas in identifying sexual harassment, the mindset of sexual harassers and the psychological contributors to sexual harassment, whilst sharing the statistics of the number of sexual harassment cases that have taken place in the workplace. She also explained the six predisposing personality traits of sexual harassers, which were grandiosity, exaggerated need for admiration, omnipotence, buried sense of inadequacy, lack of empathy for others, and poor impulse control. “There are also six psychological factors and mechanisms, which are the deployment of defence mechanisms, namely denial, excessive drinking, rationalisation, recent life changes, loneliness and overstimulation,” said Dr Azura.

Throughout the rest of the talk, Dr Azura enlightened the participants with information about the social and environmental enhancers of sexual harassers, the types of verbal, non-verbal, physical, visual and psychological harassment, and various case studies. In the end, she encouraged the participants to speak up and take action should they encounter or experience any sexual harassment in the future.

TThe talk ended with a brief Q&A and group photo session.

Dr Azura (second row, middle) posing with participants