Role of Existing Legal and Institutional Framework to Combat Sexual Harassment against Women in Mitigating Gender Inequality at the Workplace
Keywords:
Institutional Framework, Sexual Harassment, Gender Inequality, MitigationAbstract
Sexual harassment and lack of safety are one of the major and serious hurdles to women’s labor participation in Pakistan, whereby a large number of women are unable to work or are not permitted to work by their families due to looming risk, threat or fear of sexual harassment at the workplace1. The Federal government enacted the Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2010. This special law is in line with the constitutional rights of women and Pakistan’s international commitments to provide a safe environment for women to be productive in their work. Nevertheless, the present legal and institutional framework in Pakistan has certain gaps and operational impediments that make it difficult for this Act to be fully effective in ensuring safety of all women in any kind of workplace and mitigate gender inequality. The study analyzed the data of female labor force participation in Pakistan, cases registered and decided in the office of Federal Ombudsman and Punjab Ombudsperson, and also gathered survey data and interviews of women working in the public and private sector.
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References
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