Tourism Ministry licensing department assistant secretary Firna Azura Eka Putri said the licence of travel agencies which arranged for their female tour guides to share hotel rooms with male drivers could be revoked following an incident of a tour bus driver who tried to force himself on a tour guide when the two were out on an assignment recently.
The travel agency had apparently arranged for the two to share a room. The daily reported that the man, in his 50s, asked the 29-year-old victim if he could have sex with her at a hotel room in Malacca on Monday night.
“I shouted no' and tried to use the blanket to cover myself but the driver, who was only wearing his underwear, still tried to sexually harass me and even kiss me,” the victim claimed. Eventually, when the victim tried to struggle and leave the room, the driver promised not to harass her any more.
The next day, when the victim related the story to other tour guides, she was told that similar incidents had happened before. The victim said she did not lodge any police report because she was afraid of losing her job.
Malaysian Women Tourist Guide Association president Erina Loo Siew Ming, who had been a tour guide for 18 years, said she also had a similar experience. She urged victims to lodge reports with the association, which would help female tour guides who face similar problems and to prevent them from being sexually harassed or assaulted by their male colleagues. Loo said the association had yet to receive any report since its establishment five years ago because many victims did not dare to lodge any complaint.
Tourism Ministry licensing department will act accordingly when receiving such reports from victims.
No comments:
Post a Comment