Toolkit on sexual harassment launched

The Office of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Ombudsperson for Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace, in collaboration with UN Women Pakistan, on Friday launched a resource toolkit on “understanding sexual harassment, legal provisions, roles of duty bearers and right holders”. The toolkit aims to provide comprehensive information that can be used to train and capacitate inquiry committee members and other stakeholders on the law and redressal mechanisms for dispensation of justice to victims of sexual harassment at the workplace.

“Our emphasis is on the execution and smooth implementation of the workplace harassment law to make sure that the environment is safe for women to reach their full potential and contribute to the economy,” said K-P Ombudsperson Rukhshanda Naz.

UN Women Pakistan Country Representative Aisha Mukhtar said, “sexual harassment at the workplace is a pervasive issue that hampers women’s economic empowerment and their access to employment opportunities. It affects not only victims and their families but also the entire economy in the form of a decline in productivity and job losses.”

She added that it was encouraging to see more women speaking up about their experiences of sexual harassment while stressing the need to enhance the capacities of institutions to effectively respond to complaints.

To expand economic opportunities for women and increase their participation in the labour force, Mukhtar said that they must endeavour to make workplaces safer for women.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 27^th, 2020.