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Build a culture of speaking up when boundaries of acceptable behaviour are crossed

I refer to the letter, “

I refer to the letter, “ ” (Nov 24). SG Her Empowerment (SHE) agrees with the writer’s sentiments. It is fundamental that people should always feel safe and respected. It is therefore important for all men and women to have a clear understanding of what amounts to unacceptable, abusive, harmful or sexually aggressive behaviour. Examples of unacceptable conduct against girls and women include the objectification and harassment of women, voyeurism, all forms of violence (whether physical or verbal), coercive control, and the perpetuation of rigid and negative gender stereotypes. Unfortunately, there are now more ways than ever to carry out such acts. These types of incidents are increasingly common in the digital realm: in messaging apps, video recordings, online games and the metaverse. Unacceptable conduct now takes forms such as “sextortion”, “revenge porn” and denigration of women’s physical appearance. We must build a culture in which we not only respect the boundaries of acceptability, but can also speak up without reservation whenever such boundaries are crossed. Ideally, victims of unacceptable conduct would not feel that they have to keep silent, and bystanders who witness it would raise the issue without hesitation. To achieve this, all stakeholders must work together, be they the Government, educational institutions or civil society groups. Indeed, the White Paper on Singapore Women’s Development that came out earlier in 2022 set out 25 action plans for the Government and the community to carry out in tandem, which include tackling violence and harms against women. Through the one-stop victim support centre for online harms that we will launch early in 2023, SHE hopes to contribute to this effort by raising awareness of the boundaries of acceptable conduct, and in so doing build a fairer and more respectful society for women and men. Chief Executive Officer SG Her Empowerment