🔏Enhance Confidentiality & Privacy

Confidentiality and privacy are critically important for LGBTQIA+ people, especially in Malaysia, as breaches could have major consequences due to criminalisation and stigmatisation.

Click here to read more on best practices of data collection and management

🙈 Anonymous Complaints

The best way to protect the complainant from retaliation is to allow complainants to lodge anonymous reports. It is crucial to understand that very few complaints are made for improper purposes, even when they are made anonymously. Complainants also usually report any suspicions in good faith. A complainant may face the following struggles when reporting:

• Fear of criminalisation

• Fear of reprisals

• Fear of being labelled a “troublemaker”

• Feeling a sense of loyalty towards the people around them

• May not understand how complaints are addressed, or if protections will be afforded

• May not wish to jeopardise their employment or family circumstances and future opportunities

Reporting anonymously can provide a means to resolve these tensions.

How to ensure the credibility of anonymous complaints

There are several ways to weigh the credibility of an anonymous complaint. Some of these include:

• Determine whether the facts put forth by the complainant sound reasonable

• Understand if anyone involved in the incident has the motive to lie

• Find a direct or indirect witness to corroborate an allegation (or a specific response to an allegation)

• History of honesty or dishonesty of parties involved

• Consistency of certain behaviours that someone is known to do frequently

• Whether there are any inconsistencies in the statements you receive

• Manner of testimony such as indirect answers or hesitations of speech

• Similar allegations across other reports

The following outlines some guidelines for duty-bearers when reacting to anonymous complaints.

Dos

• Determine if an investigation is warranted or possible. Some complaints will not require an investigation, and some may not even require follow up (e.g., personality conflicts do not require investigation and complaints about the brand of sparkling water stocked in the kitchen do not require any follow up).

• Begin your investigation as soon as possible and plan to conclude it within a timeframe that is reasonable based on the complaint. Physical harassment and serious safety complaints, for instance, should be addressed immediately and resolved within days. Other harassment investigations should be concluded within two weeks.

• Take a measured approach, keeping in mind your intent is first to confirm whether the complaint is valid and take appropriate action if you determine that it is.

• Focus on the (alleged) facts presented and do the best you can with what you’ve been given. Anonymous reports are definitely harder to follow up on, but the option of anonymity will hopefully result in more situations being brought to your attention before they turn into bigger issues.

• Interview those you know are involved. If only a certain group, location, or department is named, start by speaking to other employees who may have experienced the same behavior. For instance, if someone registers a complaint that the Director of Engineering made sexist remarks, first interview the director’s subordinates; if you call the director in first, they will likely deny the accusation and may treat their subordinates worse, making others afraid to tell the truth about the behavior when interviewed later.

Don'ts

• Panic. All you can do is your best!

• Jump to conclusions or rush to judgment.

• Dismiss complaints just because the anonymity of the reporter makes it more difficult to investigate.

• Assume the complaint is valid or invalid before doing preliminary research.

• Retaliate against the suspected complainant or witnesses.

• Discuss the matter with anyone who is not relevant to the investigation. Share the complaint only with those who need to know about it. Sharing the contents of an anonymous complaint with those who don’t need to know about it will only discourage reporting in the future.

Adapted from: Contempo HCM, Responding to Anonymous Complaints: Dos and Don’ts (2020)