Legal literacy for all: a grassroots approach to policy reform against sexual harassment in Malaysian workplaces

Sexual harassment in Malaysian workplaces remains a persistent and multifaceted problem that undermines individual dignity, organizational effectiveness, and broader social justice objectives. Despite significant legislative developments and the recognition of sexual harassment as an actionable civil wrong by the Malaysian courts, gaps in awareness, reporting, and practical enforcement continue to impede effective protection for victims. This paper examines legal literacy as a grassroots driven policy instrument capable of addressing these gaps through preventive, pre incident intervention rather than relying solely on post incident legal remedies. Rawing on qualitative socio legal research, this study integrates doctrinal legal analysis, literature review, and empirical insights obtained from semi structured interviews and focus group discussions with employees across public and private sector workplaces in Malaysia. The findings reveal persistent deficiencies in employees’ understanding of sexual harassment laws, reporting mechanisms, and available legal remedies, alongside widespread fear of retaliation and procedural complexity that discourages reporting. Existing workplace training programmes are found to be largely compliance oriented and insufficiently participatory, limiting their effectiveness in shaping attitudes, ethical reasoning, and workplace culture. The paper argues that legal literacy must be conceptualised not merely as knowledge of statutory provisions, but as an inclusive and participatory process that integrates legal awareness, ethical responsibility, and practical application. To this end, it proposes a grassroots driven legal literacy module designed to empower individuals to recognise misconduct, understand their rights and responsibilities, navigate reporting pathways, and uphold workplace dignity. The proposed module incorporates experiential learning methods such as scenario based discussions, role play simulations, and ethical reflection to foster moral agency and collective accountability. Ultimately, this research demonstrates that democratising legal knowledge through participatory legal literacy initiatives has significant potential to strengthen preventive policy reform, enhance access to justice, and contribute to the creation of safer, more dignified, and more equitable workplaces in Malaysia