KUALA LUMPUR: Forest Interactive kicks off #ItEndsNow, formalizing an ongoing initiative to advocate for harassment awareness, prevention, and support in the workplace.
Since 2020, Forest Interactive has outwardly expressed support toward ending harassment at the workplace, first by pledging its support toward the tabling of the Sexual Harassment Bill in the Parliament of Malaysia alongside its talents. Then, in August 2021, it also issued a zero-tolerance stance on sexual harassment, highlighting the physical, verbal, and non-verbal conduct that will result in dismissals, as well as the complaint procedures for those affected.
The internal #ItEndsNowcampaign first kicked off with its awareness phase in March 2022, first with a pre-campaign survey aimed to gauge talents’ understanding of sexual assault. From there, a series of weekly email newsletters also raised awareness of types of harassment in the workplace, talents’ rights at the workplace, grievance mechanisms in place at Forest Interactive, and avenues for talents for conflict resolution and external resources.
The first series of #ItEndsNow newsletter campaigns aim to strengthen Forest Interactive obligations toward ending violence and harassment in the workplace with a zero-tolerance policy for men and women at the Forest Interactive and its related entities.
“We want to encourage talents to speak out and reclaim their voice and power. The culture surrounding silencing and shaming victims has prevailed for far too long. Our goal for communicating our zero-tolerance policy is to ensure that everyone understands their rights and to convey that our workplace environment will not condone hostile and intimidating behaviors,” said Nen Lin Soo, Group Communications Manager at Forest Interactive. “Individuals that may have been harassed in the workplace can suffer long-lasting negative effects such as gendered power dynamics, loss of future employment opportunities due to low trust in institutions and employers, or impediment of the course of their career advancement.”
“As most of our talents continue to work remotely in our 16 offices around the world, harassment can still occur virtually or even in social settings outside of work with their fellow colleagues,” she emphasized. “We want our talents to know the broad spectrum of actions that are considered harassment and the due process that they will receive should they be harassed or act as a perpetrator.”
Johary Mustapha, Founder & CEO of Forest Interactive, expressed his strong support toward the campaign.
“I hope that through #ItEndsNow, we can further establish and reiterate our stance on a fundamental basis of employee rights and manage to provide a strong support network among our talents, to create a positive working environment. I also hope this campaign conveys our zero-tolerance purpose to never condone violence in this company.”
Aside from raising awareness among the talents, this campaign acts as the first step forward and aims to take appropriate measures against sexual offenders by creating a safe platform for the victim to speak up.
Talents are encouraged to express constructive criticism, book consultation slots, or seek harassment-related resources by clicking through the People Operation tab on the helpdesk portal.
The next phase of the #ItEndsNow campaign will feature internal training and workshops for employees and higher management surrounding workplace harassment, overcoming conflicts at work, as well as support and remedies companies can implement for affected talents. Forest Interactive will continue to maintain a harassment-free workplace. All allegations of harassment will be taken seriously, and no employee will be victimized for making such complaints.
This #ItEndsNow campaign aligns with Forest Interactive’s fundamental keystone on sustainable development goals (SDGs), where it addressed sustainable solutions, particularly in the global movement to achieve Decent Work and Economic Growth (8) and Reduced Inequalities (10).
About Forest Interactive
Founded in 2006, Forest Interactive develops scalable mobile platforms to connect mobile operators, content providers, and game publishers with their subscribers. With over 15 years of industry experience, Forest Interactive has expanded to include a diverse workforce of 20+ nationalities in 16 regional offices.
Delivering content subscription services, digital voucher and e-commerce platforms, and mobile apps for all ages, Forest Interactive operates in more than 30 countries, servicing 90+ mobile operators and 100+ content partners with the capacity to reach over one billion subscribers worldwide. To learn more, visit forest-interactive.com.
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