Supreme Court: It’s high time to recognize risk of sexual harassment against seafarers

Ruling on the case of a Filipino seafarer, the Supreme Court said it is high time to recognize the risk of sexual harassment faced by male sailors.

The SC made the pronouncement in a July 8 decision partly granting the petition of a male seafarer who was sexually harassed by the chief officer while he was employed aboard a ship in 2014.

"The Supreme Court held it was high-time to correct the society’s notion that women are the weaker sex and the only victims of sexual harassment because this is discriminatory against men who have suffered the same plight," the SC Public Information Office said.

"Sexual harassment is not an issue of gender but an issue of power," it added.

In the ruling, the court's Third Division ordered ship management company Anglo-Eastern and its crew management arm in the Philippines to pay the petitioner US$1,389.20 (P66791.21) for the unexpired portion of his contract. The court also reinstated the award of P100,000 in moral damages, P50,000 in exemplary damages, and attorney's fees worth 10% of the total monetary award.

The petitioner, who was hired as a messman, had accused the chief officer of demanding that he perform sexual acts on him on two occasions. Two co-workers corroborated his account when he filed a complaint, according to the SC PIO.

The chief officer threatened to kill the messman when he learned about the complaint, the SC PIO said. When the messman was repatriated in July 2014, the company physician found that he was sexually harassed and physically abused by the chief officer.

He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder four months later.

The seafarer filed a labor complaint in the Philippines. The Labor Arbiter granted him moral and exemplary damages but said he could not claim disability benefits because he failed to meet reportorial requirements. The National Labor Relations Commission, on appeal, deleted the award for damages.

The seafarer also lost in the Court of Appeals, prompting him to take his case to the SC.

The SC PIO said the court recognized the petitioner "suffered some form of injury" but did not grant him disability benefits due to a lack of evidence that he was "permanently and totally disabled."

Saying the case is unique because a mental health condition is involved, the SC explained that the petitioner "should not be blamed for belatedly seeking medical help considering his dire financial condition is a factor."

"The Court said that it recognized that it takes time for victims of sexual harassment to come forward, especially so if the victim is a male due to several factors like stigma, sense of loss of masculinity, and fear of being perceived as homosexual," the SC PIO said.

"The Court also held that we must change the notion that injuries refer to only the physical kind, as they can come in many forms like emotional or psychological. It is high-time that we recognize sexual harassment on board vessels as a risk faced by our seafarers," it added.

A copy of the decision was not immediately available. — RSJ, GMA News