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by Nadira Gunatilleke and Sandasen Marasinghe

According to Nirmalee, a 29-year-old married copywriter attached to a leading advertising company, she worked under a womanising boss for two years and at the end she left the place after hitting him on the face. "I was under constant harassment.

He purposely kept me long hours. I had to travel with him alone and he tried his best to get me with the support of some other employees. I tolerated it for some time because of my love for the job. But I left the place after hitting him on the face with my shoe one day after he tried to drag me into a hotel room while participating in an official conference.

Women - a vulnerable group

The International Labour Organisation and the Employers Federation of Ceylon say that sexual harassment is a criminal offence under Sri Lankan Law. A person found guilty of sexual harassment will be imprisoned with or without hard labour up to five years; or fined; or imprisoned and fined; and ordered to pay compensation to the victim.

The same organisations say that a company is responsible to create awareness on sexual harassment among its employees at all levels and treat all complaints of sexual harassment seriously and confidentially. Protecting all employees against victimisation for making or being involved in a complaint and taking immediate steps to stop sexual harassment and to deal severely with any kind of harassment of a sexual nature are also the responsibilities of a company. The company has to appoint a Panel to address sexual harassment complaints.

The company shall ensure that the harassment has ceased and no victimisation takes place as a result. The situation should be monitored.

The panel should consist of a minimum of three members and should include representation from the Human Resources Department and Legal Department. Women should form at least two thirds of its membership and shall ensure utmost confidentiality.

It should also impartially conduct the inquiry. The panel shall notify the respective parties, the outcome of the inquiry in writing. If of the opinion that the harasser/victim requires counselling, shall refer the person to a counsellor.

The counsellor shall be trained in counselling skills and should ensure utmost confidentiality. He or she should also be a listener and offer necessary support.

If you are being harassed you can take informal action by letting the person harassing you know that you find the action offensive and or unwelcome. You can take formal action by making a formal complaint in writing to the appointed panel. After the complaint is made, both parties will be heard by the panel, which will after such a hearing decide upon the appropriate disciplinary measures.

The hearing of the Panel shall commence within five days of receiving a complaint. A record of the hearing, including a record of the relevant incidents, dates, etc., should be maintained by the panel.

Sexual harassment is conducted which is unwelcome, unsolicited, unacceptable, unreasonable and offensive to the recipient, of an overtly or covertly sexual nature affecting the dignity of women and men at work including conduct of superiors, colleagues and subordinates.

Unwelcome sexually determined behaviour which can be categorized as visual-posters, graffiti, indecent exposure, sexual gestures, electronic mail, voyeurism; verbal-obscene/offensive language, lewd comments, sexual innuendoes, nuisance calls, correspondence, rumours, gossip, slander; tactile-pinching, touching, squeezing, kissing, molesting.

Unwelcome sexually determined behaviour includes a demand or request for sexual favours conveyed by words or action conduct which creates an intimidating, hostile or humiliating work environment for the recipient. Conduct of sexual nature which influences access to or continuation of employment, or employment related decisions.

If you are not satisfied with the decision of the Panel you can make an appeal in writing to the highest policy-making body or the Chief Executive Officer of the establishment.

Where the complaint is found to be malicious, necessary action shall be taken against the complainant.

Both the complainant and the alleged harasser have a right to a prompt, thorough, discreet and impartial inquiry in accordance with the company's disciplinary procedure and representation.

Disciplinary measures taken in these circumstances would include, and will not be limited to counselling, verbal warning, written warning, final written warning and then the dismissal.

The company is fulfilling its role as an employer with a commitment towards ensuring employees' rights and their protection. Recognizing that an employee has a right to dignity at the work place which calls for mutual respect and consideration. Taking into account the company's responsibility towards its employees to provide, ensure and maintain a conducive working environment free from any kind of harassment particularly of sexual nature. Considering the company's policy which strongly condemns sexual harassment in the work place it should declare the following:

* The right to work is an inalienable right of all human beings. The right to safety in working conditions and equality in employment is inseparable from the right to work. Equality in employment can be seriously impaired when individuals are subjected to gender specific violence, such as sexual harassment in the work place.

* The right to work with dignity is a fundamental human right. The right to work with dignity requires respect for one another and to behave with consideration towards each other. The company is committed towards protecting the employees' right to dignity.

* Sexual harassment reflects the unequal power relations between persons in society. International and national policy condemns sexual harassment. Efficient and productive output cannot be delivered if people cannot work with dignity. Organisational and workforce performance could be adversely affected by any form of harassment.

* The company shall not tolerate any form of harassment. The company aims to ensure the provision of a safe working environment for all its employees, free from all forms of sexual harassment. The company shall take measures to ensure that all employees are aware of their policy on sexual harassment; and sexual harassment shall be interpreted as a form of misconduct, where any kind of harassment of a sexual nature will be severely dealt with.

* It shall be the duty of all employees to abide by the company's policy on sexual harassment and to comply with this code of conduct. It shall be the responsibility of the management to review the policy from time to time in terms of its relevance; and to provide guidance and support to managers on prompt and effective action in dealing with situations regarding sexual harassment. It shall be the responsibility of all managers to monitor and review the application of this policy within their respective departments and to ensure compliance with it.

* Harassment in all its forms will be treated as a disciplinary offence under the Company's Disciplinary Procedure.

Another victim Amanda, a 26- year-old single secretary attached to a leading company said that she works under a deputy manager and he is married to a rich woman who is a housewife and a friend of hers. They have a one and half year old son. "I have a steady boyfriend who is a doctor by profession. But over the past few years my boss is in love with me. He always calls me and wanted me to go out with him. One day he brought a bunch of red roses for me. I am not interested in him and I am trying my best to hide this from my boyfriend. But I don't know how long I can do it. If I tell this to my boyfriend he will definitely ask me to resign but I need my job to support my aged parents", she explained.

Roshan, a young university student said that he was in the first year when the very first experience of sexual harassment in the workplace hit him. "I come from a poor family and the allowance (bursary) paid from the university was not enough to make ends meet. Therefore I had to ask for money from my parents.

I hate that because I know how they earn and send money to me. So I got employment as a security guard at a rich house in Colombo 7 where the owner is a wealthy middle aged lady. She treated me very well and always gave extra money. One day while I was on duty she got a sudden heart pain and it all started on that day. I had to obey her because I needed money. At that time I had a girlfriend who is an undergraduate at the same university but I had to say good bye to her because she found out about my `affair'. I feel that now a good part of me is missing, he said.

A young executive attached to a leading private bank said that he joined that bank as a management trainee and trained under a lady boss. She was married and had three kids.

"She was like an aunt to me and treated me very kindly. Gradually we became friendly and she told me her life story. According to her she was leading a very depressed life with her husband. He was treating her like dirt. I felt sorry for her. Gradually I became her lover and I did not oppose it because I wanted to get confirmed in my job and wanted job security. But now I hate myself for what I did and am still not married", he explained.

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