Only 3 in 10 feel safe reporting cases of sexual crimes in Singapore, AsiaOne survey finds

When Veronica (not her real name) was sexually assaulted at the age of 11, she kept mum about the incident for three years.

Speaking to AsiaOne, Veronica, now a 22-year-old university student, shared that her female cousin had penetrated her using fingers during a sleepover in 2012, and also kissed and groped her without consent.

Despite feeling "disgusted, violated and shameful" after the assault, she chose not to report the incident or share it with anybody at that time.

Citing a lack of evidence as one reason for keeping silent, Veronica explained that she was also afraid of being shamed by her "conservative" family and harboured a fear towards authority figures when she was young.

Unfortunately, Veronica's not the only one who felt this way.

An AsiaOne survey showed that just three in 10 respondents (33.6 per cent) feel safe reporting cases of sexual harassment or assault for themselves, on behalf of others, or in both scenarios.

9.4 per cent of the respondents were not sure if they feel safe reporting the matter, indicating that their level of comfort doing so differs from case to case. 

Meanwhile, 12.5 per cent of respondents do not know if they feel safe to report such cases.

The survey, conducted between June 28 and July 17 this year, polled some 1,175 Singapore-based readers to find out their perceptions and attitudes towards sexual harassment and assault.

Indifference towards reporting sexual crimes

Surprisingly, a sizeable proportion of about four in 10 respondents (39.7 per cent) answered "don’t care" when asked if they felt safe reporting sexual harassment or assaults in Singapore.

Interestingly, students were more likely to choose this option – with over one in two students (51.9 per cent) indicating so.

Respondents currently not in the workforce were also likely to say that they felt safe reporting cases of sexual assault or harassment compared to respondents who are employed or self-employed.

Meanwhile, women were 5.7 per cent more likely than men to indicate that they were not sure if they feel safe about reporting cases of sexual crimes.

7.7 per cent of women indicated that they do not feel safe reporting cases of sexual assault and harassment as compared to 4.3 per cent of males.

Despite the varying levels of perceptions about how safe it was to report cases of sexual assault or harassment, 68.4 per cent of respondents shared that they would report any perpetrators regardless of their identity.

However, respondents are less likely to report cases of sexual harassment or assault if it happened in workplaces or in someone else's private space.

Additionally, respondents who felt unsafe or were unsure if it was safe to report such cases are less likely to report the case if a close friend or colleague is involved.

Most would choose silence

Although Veronica's fears held her back from reporting her case of sexual assault at that point in time, she eventually decided to share her experience with her school counsellor. 

In 2015, the 14-year-old girl was referred to the counsellor after her teachers grew worried over her panic attacks in school.

This counsellor is the first person Veronica had told about the assault.

"I didn't even want to tell anyone to begin with, because I was deeply embarrassed and honestly didn't even know what to make of the situation," she confessed.

Veronica has since told her mother and a few close friends about the assault out of necessity or when she was seeking understanding from them.

Her initial sentiments of not wanting to share her experience are echoed by approximately three in five respondents, who said they would not share with anyone if they were sexually harassed or assaulted.

On the other hand, some 19.6 per cent of respondents revealed that they will first share their experience with either close friends or family members.

Another 7.9 per cent of respondents would first share their experience with the police.

Among the respondents who would share their experience with someone else, men are more likely to first file a police report while women would choose to first tell their close friends or family members about the incident.

On the contrary, men are also more likely to not speak to anyone if they were sexually assaulted or harassed as compared to women.

More than half (55.2 per cent) of the men surveyed indicated that they will not tell anyone if sexually harassed or assaulted, while just 37.0 per cent of women said the same.

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In 2020, a study conducted by the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) found that 55 per cent of their respondents would not report sexual harassment experienced in their workplace to any official reporting channel.

Edmund Chua, who heads AsiaOne's consumer insights and analytics group, said that Aware's study indicates prevalent apprehension in reporting sexual harassment among Singaporeans.

This indicates prevalent apprehension likely persists till today, as suggested by AsiaOne's survey results.

"A holistic approach to create a culture where people feel safe to report sexual harassment needs to address both the different sets of concerns that people have, as well as idiosyncrasies in settings," he added.

Varying definitions of sexual harassment

Besides their sense of safety in reporting and willingness to speak up about cases of sexual assault or harassment, respondents also weighed in on what they considered to be sexual harassment.

Given the option to select more than one choice, respondents were most likely to say that touching of thighs (40.0 per cent), sending suggestive notes, images or videos (36.3 per cent) and making lewd or suggestive comments (34.6 per cent) constitute sexual harassment.

The results also provided some insight into gender differences on actions constituting sexual harassment. Females were more likely than males to indicate that an action constitute sexual harassment.

The greatest difference in opinion was observed in their choice of whether making lewd or suggestive comments is sexual harassment, where 53.5 per cent of women surveyed believed making lewd or suggestive comments is considered sexual harassment, while only 34.7 per cent of men believed the same.

Similarly, the next considerable difference in opinion was with catcalling or whistling, where 36.1 per cent of women considered it as sexual harassment compared to just 19.7 per cent of males who thought the same. 

On the survey findings, Chua highlighted that there are observable differences between what is considered sexual harassment between members of both genders, and it cannot be assumed that what constitutes sexual harassment is "common sense" among Singaporeans.

"A number of incidences of sexual harassment could be unintentional, where one party is acting in a way that he/she considers acceptable when it is in fact not the case for the other party," he elaborated.

Such incidences can be prevented if there is greater alignment in the definition of sexual harassment among Singaporeans, said Chua.

"Public education is valuable in forming broad consensus but might be ill-suited to achieve alignment in specific settings.

"It will be valuable that communities, such as companies, religious organisations, et cetera, with high degrees of interpersonal interaction develop and clearly communicate their own set of code of conduct for respective settings."

• Additional reporting by Bhavya Rawat

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lim.kewei@asiaone.com
bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com

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