Training: Lawyers, bureaucrats vow to stem sexual harassment

Participants of the workshop resolved to effectively implement Anti-Sexual Harassment laws in their respective domains

Government officials, lawyers and members from judiciary as well as civil society resolved to effectively implement the anti-sexual harassment laws, said a press statement released by Mehergarh on Sunday.

The organisation had organised a workshop for officials from Ministry of Capital Administration Development (CADD), Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Federal Directorate of Education (FDE), lawyers, and representatives of civil society organisations from all four provinces and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Participants of the workshop resolved to effectively implement the Anti-Sexual Harassment laws in their respective domains. The parliament had passed two laws in 2010 namely the Protection Against Harassment of Women at Workplace Act 2010 and PPC Section 509, which have made sexual harassment a punishable crime.

Mehergarh has since taken the lead in implementation of the laws and has managed to create hubs of resource persons in different sectors to effectively implement the laws through conducting training of trainers.

As many as 30 participants from public and private organisations participated in the latest three-day training which familiarised them with the laws and the mechanism to enforce them. The training took place at Mehergarh’s training facility in Islamabad from September 28 to 30.

The participants vowed that they would be the torch bearers to spread the awareness and understanding of the anti-sexual harassment legislation in their organizations and the society.

Towards the end of the training the participants exhibited strong understanding of the laws. Speaking at the event after distributing certificates, Abdul Latif Laghari, Senior Joint Secretary at Ministry of Capital Administration and Development who is also the Co-Chair of the Federal Implementation Watch Committee, said that they will “make Islamabad a model city in implementation of Anti-Sexual Harassment Laws”.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 1^st, 2012.