Two NGOs had to return funding they had been given to provide sexual harassment training to businesses because few responded to an advertisement offering the service.

Men against Violence and the Women’s Rights Foundation jointly received €25,000 in funding from the Community Chest Fund in 2016, to research sexual harassment in Malta and provide training for workers and employers.

But only two unions and an informal group of workers answered to advertising on social media, print and digital media, and television, it has been revealed.

Of the €25,000 the two groups received for the project, €10,000 had to be returned.

“Much sexual harassment has been normalised and accepted as part and parcel of life and you barely hear anyone in a position to do something about it, say anything, never mind do something,” Aleksandar Dimitrijevic from Men against Violence said.

Seminars on sexual harassment were given to members of the General Workers’ Union and the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses. A group of senior nurses at Mater Dei Hospital also asked for and received training, he said.

However, no private company applied for the training.

Because of the lack of interest, 60 per cent of the fund had to be returned to the Community Chest Fund since it was not utilised- Aleksandar Dimitrijevic, Men against Violence

“Sexual harassment at the workplace (and otherwise) is an orphan in Malta, culturally, socially and politically. It is an issue that nobody, but few NGOs and women’s rights organisations, care for,” he said in a Facebook post.

Dimitrijevic was reacting to a sexual harassment scandal that has rocked the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra and the culture ministry.

“Much fuss has been made now about the most recent high-profile case, but I find it hard to join the bandwagon. It is being pushed because there is a political (with a big P) angle and it is being pushed in a partisan manner,” Dimitrijevic said on Facebook.

Last month, a male official at the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra admitted to sexually harassing a female member of the orchestra, who resigned over the “excessive stress” caused by the abuse.

Two weeks ago, MPO CEO Sigmund Mifsud was charged with attempted tampering with evidence as he allegedly instructed employees to keep quiet about the scandal.

A week later, Manoel Theatre CEO, Massimo Zammit, was suspended on half pay following claims of misconduct.

A 2018 Community Chest Fund-backed study found that three out of every four women have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace.