Pakistan has always struggled to protect human rights, but more specifically women’s rights, according to international standards. The shifting pattern of globalisation has resulted in more women participating in the workforce, but this economic growth came at a cost, namely that of human rights abuses. 4,734 women have been sexually abused and over 15,000 cases of honour crimes were registered in Pakistan between 2004 to 2016 as per White Ribbon Pakistan. Additionally, a periodical report has revealed a 200 percent increase in cases of violence against women in Pakistan in the first three months of 2020. The crime rate has however fluctuated as a 73 percent drop was witnessed during the month of February 2020 but then there was a spike of up to 360 percent during the month of March.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT AGAINST WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE

When considering the incidents of sexual harassment in Pakistan the following figures are telling; in Lahore there were 54 rapes in 2018, yet by the end of February 2020 this number increased to 73 incidents of rape, including five gang-rape cases. In 2019, no fewer than 3,881 cases of rape were registered just in Punjab with just a 0.3% conviction rate in the whole of Pakistan.  

A major type of violence against women that Pakistan is particularly struggling with is sexual harassment in the workplace. A survey on the harassment of women at the workplace mentions that nearly 93 percent of women working in the public and private sectors are alleged to have been subjected to sexual harassment. Private sector organisations appeared to be involved in more cases of sexual harassment due to the lack of job security and the absence of regulatory mechanisms. The statistics from the Federal Ombudsman Secretariat for Protection Against Harassment (FOSPAH) show that the complaint rate for sexual harassment in the workplace has increased from 432 in 2019, to 535 in 2020. Moreover, the FOSPAH Annual report 2022 outlined the following figures; the total number of complaints between 2018 to 2022 were 2169, in the government sector there were 582 lodged by women and 148 by men. In the private sector there were 994 complaints from women and 445 by men.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND HUMAN RIGHTS

In its General Recommendation No. 19, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) defines sexual harassment as: “including such unwelcome sexually determined behaviour as physical contact and advances, sexually coloured remarks, showing pornography and sexual demand, whether by words or actions. Such conduct can be humiliating and may constitute a health and safety problem; it is discriminatory when the woman has reasonable grounds to believe that her objection would disadvantage her in connection with her employment, including recruitment or promotion, or when it creates a hostile working environment”.

Sexual harassment in the workplace is a major hindrance to the right to work which is protected under article 23 of Universal declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), article 6  and  7 of international Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural rights (ICESCR), and article 11 of CEDAW.

Workplace harassment violates the right to work primarily, but also hinders other associated rights. Firstly, harassment makes the working environment hostile and unsafe for a person, therefore, violating the right to just and favourable working conditions. Secondly, the fact that harassment disproportionately affects women makes it gender-based discrimination, which is prohibited under CEDAW. Moreover, denial of protected rights to work, to be free from workplace discrimination, or to just and favourable working conditions, is a denial of a well-maintained right to dignity. Therefore, in situations where women in Pakistan are either harassed at their workplace or are exploited based on their gender, the state is accountable for its failure not only to discourage gender-based discrimination but also to properly discharge its international commitments as outlined above.

LEGAL MEASURES TAKEN WITHIN PAKISTAN

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown measures in the country over the past two years, all work and thus also the harassment, turned online. Against this Pakistan also has the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA). The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) implements PECA, and its cybercrime wing investigates complaints, especially from women. However, in a country of 34 million internet users, the cybercrime wing has a team of only 500 individuals, 400 of whom were added last year. The numbers coming from the agency are worrying; between 2018 and 2019 it registered 8,500 complaints of women facing online harassment. PECA is problematic, with respect to Pakistan’s international human rights obligations as it makes transmitting defamatory information a crime, thus, curtailing the right to expression of survivors of sexual harassment.

Moreover, Pakistan has passed the Protection Against Harassment of Women at Workplace Act 2010 in pursuance of its international obligations and protecting women’s rights. It ostensibly complies with article 23(1) of UDHR and the requirements of CEDAW. The definition of harassment used by Pakistan is similar to the one given by the CEDAW Committee, indicating the legislature’s commitment to its international obligations. The most recent amendment Bill of 2022 expands its scope by encompassing both formal and informal workplaces, making it reflect the 2019 definition of the workplace by International Labour Organisation (ILO) Violence and Harassment Convention (C190), which has not yet been ratified by Pakistan. This will now include domestic workers as well, who were previously not included under this law despite being at a greater risk of being harassed. Provisions of this Act require all public and private organisations to adopt an internal Code of Conduct and a complaint and appeals mechanism aimed at establishing a safe working environment for women. It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure the implementation of this Act, including but not limited to, incorporating the code of conduct as a part of their management policy. The management is also mandated to display copies of the code of conduct in a conspicuous place in the organisation and the workplace. On failure of an employer to comply with this provision the employer shall be liable to fines which may extend to one hundred thousand rupees but shall not be less than twenty-five thousand rupees. This Act builds on the principles of equal opportunity for men and women and their right to earn a livelihood without fear of discrimination as stipulated in the Constitution of Pakistan. 

TO TACKLE THE PROBLEM EFFECTIVELY,  MORE MEASURES NEED TO BE TAKEN

Despite all these efforts, the law serves only as a piece of paper and faces implementational hurdles, cases often linger on in courts for years and no timely relief is provided. This discourages women and many prefer not to file complaints. Furthermore, many women and men are still unable to stand up for themselves, mainly due to the fear of social stigma or sometimes the lack of awareness of their rights, which is why we are failing to address the issue of harassment once and for all. 

It is not just the government that can be blamed for this situation; the whole of society will have to come forward to solve it. All sections of society particularly the police and the judiciary will have to play their role through a comprehensive reform program which may include: first, awareness seminars regarding harassment laws and rights of individuals in this regard; second, implementation of a judicial sensitisation program on dealing with victims of sexual violence and harassment; third, establishing one government universal access distress line for women countrywide; fourth, making all efforts to ensure more holistic discussions on the nature of harassment, consent, and victim blaming, which can be achieved by state-sponsored televised programs, advertisements, radio broadcasts, etc.; fifth, the government needs to get serious about curbing gendered online harassment of women and overhaul PECA’s abusive provisions and the power structure that controls the investigative agency; sixth, stablishing state sponsored bodies to provide psychological and physical treatment to survivors of sexual violence; and lastly, providing swift, affordable, and accessible administration of justice in all harassment cases in the two-month time frame as provided under the law, through the constitution of women’s courts and provision of free legal aid where required.

To conclude; passing laws in compliance with international obligations is undoubtedly a milestone in achieving the protection of human rights, but there is a long way to go to attain equality in the workplace. Governance gaps and implementation barriers remain, but these gaps can be narrowed through amendments in the procedures and establishing reformation campaigns.

Ashba Nawaz is an Erasmus Mundus Scholar at the University of Glasgow perusing an LLM in International Law of Global Security, Peace, and Development. She is doing a Master in International Security at Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals (IBEI) as well. She has been a law officer to the Federal Ombudsman for Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace, Pakistan, and is currently working as a human rights researcher at Global Human Rights Defence.

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