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9 years on, SC guideline still unimplemented

Finds ActionAid Bangladesh study on sexual harassment at educational institutions and workplaces

Staff Correspondent
The Supreme Court guideline, issued nine long years ago, on how to address sexual harassment at educational institutions and workplaces has gone largely unimplemented, according a recent research.
With a larger number of women pursuing education and entering job market over these years, their becoming sexually harassed at the educational institutions and workplaces has become a pressing issue.
The study, conducted by ActionAid Bangladesh, reveals that students, employees and authorities of the institutions and
organisations have little knowledge about the SC guideline.
As a result, the institutions and organisations did not consider to adopt a mechanism or policy to deal with complaints of sexual harassment and an effective procedure through which a victim can seek help.
The report on the study, conducted by Dhaka University law department Assistant ProfessorTaslima Yasmin, was launched at a hotel in the capital yesterday.
The study consists of semi-structured interviews of 21 respondents and structured interviews of 60 respondents from different national or multi-national companies, banks, financial institutions, media outlets, schools, colleges and public and private universities.
"The presence of an effective mechanism [under the SC guideline] to address sexual harassment against women at educational institutions and workplaces is still not visible in the overall scenario of sexual harassment prevention efforts," the report said. The court had imposed obligations on the organisations to raise awareness on sexual harassment and directed the authorities to form committees that would receive and investigate complaints and take actions accordingly.
Out of the 30 university students who answered a structured questionnaire 25 were not aware of a sexual harassment committee in their institutions while more than 26 had no knowledge about the 2009 SC guideline.
Only one of the private university authorities out of a total three interviewed, said they have a properly
functioning complaint hearing committee.
However, two public universities were found to have functional committees to address sexual harassment.
Among the 20 employees of different organisations participated in structured interviews, only one said she had heard about the guidelines, but was not aware of the details.
While briefing on their research, Taslima Yasmin said the court had already sketched out the ways on how to address the sexual harassment complaints. But to implement the guideline, each institution or organisation has to adopt a policy defining eligible members of the committee, the actions to be taken following investigation and the procedure to access the committee.
She suggested enacting a specific law addressing the prevention, compensation and punishment aspects of sexual harassment.
Abul Hossain, project director of women and children affairs ministry, said the
government was sincere in addressing women's issues, which was why it had been increasingbudget in this area.
The ministry would review the present scenario of the social menace before formulating an action plan in July or August this year, he added.
While analysing the budget allocation, ActionAid Bangladesh Country Director Farah Kabir said it was found that most of the allocated funds were spent on safety net and other fields.
Separate funds and resources have to be allocated while making the funds
available to stop violence against women, she added.
While many speakers spoke of stringent punishment, rights activist Shirin Haque said, "We have to shift our thinking a bit" - from punishment-oriented actions to correction-oriented steps.
Building awareness is the primary and most important step towards ensuring a safe environment for women so they can pursue their education and career, the speakers said emphasising a concerted effort in this regard by civil society members, NGOs, corporate organisations and the government.