Officer fined over workplace harassment

The Federal Ombudsperson for Protection Against Harassment has imposed a Rs500,000 fine on a government officer for repeatedly taunting a female colleague over her inability to have children and likening her to a transgender person.

In its ruling, the Ombudsperson observed that the mere use of ethnic or linguistic references does not, in itself, constitute harassment. However, it found that the respondent had deliberately used gender-based derogatory language as a weapon against an identified workplace rival, reflecting a discriminatory mindset.

The decision held that the use of demeaning language against a female colleague in the course of departmental rivalry amounted to workplace harassment, warranting the imposition of a Rs500,000 penalty.

According to the record, the respondent conducted a systematic campaign against the complainant by publishing multiple insulting messages online. The officer repeatedly used derogatory expressions and even fabricated the title of a fictitious book, along with false authorship and publication details, in an attempt to ridicule the complainant.

The ruling further noted that the respondent repeatedly targeted the complainant's inability to bear children by comparing her to the transgender community, deliberately employing gender-based derogatory language as a means of humiliation.

The Ombudsperson observed that using terms associated with transgender identity as insults was not merely discourteous language but reinforced harmful stereotypes. Such conduct, the ruling stated, reflects discriminatory attitudes towards one of society's most vulnerable and marginalised communities and has no place in a professional working environment.