The Malta Women's Lobby is seeking more answers on the sexual harassment case at the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra.
A senior official at the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra has been placed under a restraining order, as well as a suspended sentence, after admitting to having sexually harassed a young female orchestra musician over a span of more than three years.
Malta Philharmonic Orchestra CEO Sigmund Mifsud on Saturday was charged with tampering with evidence after he allegedly instructed MPO employees to keep quiet on sexual harassment scandal.
Sexual harassment is widespread and is under-reported, the Women’s Lobby said. It has serious and grave implications on the victims and produces a toxic work environment that harms all.
All workers deserve a safe workplace free from sexual harassment and sexual harassment can never be overlooked or tolerated.
For this reason, the Malta Women's Lobby is calling upon government authorities to take the case of sexual harassment on a female member of the national orchestra further and to go all the way to ensure that there is zero tolerance towards anyone committing and/or trying to cover up such a crime.
The Equality for Men and Women Act states that it is the duty of employers to provide the person claiming to have been sexually harassed, with a written report on the allegation made, and what procedures will be used by the employer to tackle it within ten working days of such a report.
Moreover, persons responsible for any workplace are duty bound to protect their employees against sexual harassment, by ensuring that all steps that are reasonably practical are taken to prevent such sexual harassment.
The lack of action on the part of Malta Philharmonic Orchestra officials, who are duty bound in ensuring that workers are free from such harassment, led the woman concerned having to resign from her employment, possibly to protect herself from further harm, since her verbal reports over the matter had allegedly all been ignored.
The Impact of Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment is comparable to the strain caused by other major negative life events such are injury or illness, incarceration, or assault.
Victims of sexual harassment can experience physical, psychological, and mental health problems such as anxiety and depression among others.
Sexual harassment can also have a long-lasting effect on the career and the financial stability of the victims, especially if such incidents happen early in their career. This can lead to lost or lower wages, and debts.
However, not all women can afford to leave their work, and those who decide to challenge the illegal behaviour, often risk being ostracised and re-victimised.
Unchecked sexual harassment allows the perpetrator to inflict damage on other women, and in the long run damages the reputation of the organisation. Furthermore when it is allowed to fester it can lead to a lower morale, reduced performance, absenteeism and a higher turnover
On the specific case of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra the Women’s Lobby is asking
1. That a credible reason is given as to why the name of the perpetrator is being withheld. The claim that this is being done to protect the victim is questionable and hard to believe, in view of the fact that this would not, in any way, disclose her identity.
2. That a confirmation, or otherwise, on whether the perpetrator is still employed with the MPO or not on half pay, and whether he will be allowed to return to his previous job.
3. That the MPO publishes a list of remedies that were offered to the victim.
4. That the MPO declares the strategy that it intends to employ so as to ensure that such episodes never happen again.
The MWL insists that employees should always be protected against all forms of discrimination, including sexual harassment, and that any person responsible for ensuring that the required procedures are followed, who does not take action forthwith and fails to protect victims, should be held accountable.
The MWL also urges those who are experiencing sexual harassment to speak up and seek help through the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE) on Tel No: 2276 8200 or by email: [email protected]. Since this is a crime one can also file a report directly to the police.
Finally, the MWL also called on the government to fulfill an important proposal in its Electoral Manifesto (Proposal 194) in order to ratify the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention on Violence and Sexual Harassment at the place of work.