Police urges to report sexual harassments by foreigners
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Hsu/ Thet Paing (NP News)-July 24
Writing in The Statesman Journal, a retired senior police officer recommended that Myanmar women subjected to sexual harassment by foreign nationals should report or file a case at the nearest police station.
A retired officer emphasized the importance of reporting incidents where foreigners target Myanmar women in public places—such as parks, streets, or shopping centers—recording them with phones or cameras while making inappropriate or sexually harassing remarks.
He further explained that while it's acceptable to ask for directions, women should proactively avoid situations where interactions escalate to inappropriate speech or actions. He added that in current times, people should also be cautious of false job offers or deceptive lures. If someone persists aggressively despite being avoided, the incident can be reported under Section 354 of the Myanmar Penal Code.
In some major cities in Myanmar, there has been an increase in cases of sexual harassment against Myanmar women by foreigners, and the retired officer stressed the need to pay special attention to this issue.
The officer warned of cases where foreigners approach women, using the guise of job offers to extract phone numbers and other personal information. He noted that some even livestream these encounters in their native language, asking their audience overtly vulgar questions like, "Do you like this girl? What should I do to her?" and making inappropriate comments about the women. He stressed that such concerning behavior warrants vigilance and close monitoring, asserting that preventing these incidents is always preferable to addressing their aftermath.
Under Section 354 of the Myanmar Penal Code, it is stated that whoever assaults or uses criminal force to any woman, intending to outrage or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby outrage her modesty, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both. –