PAKISTAN: Policy guidelines on sexual harassment

31 May 2009

Pakistan's Higher Education Commission has drafted policy guidelines to curb the menace of sexual harassment in institutions of higher education and to ensure an atmosphere free from all forms of harassment, exploitation and intimidation, reports Mansoor Malik for Dawn.

The commission started working on policy against sexual harassment late last year. It has circulated a 31-page draft policy, prepared by a taskforce of former vice-chancellors, to all higher education institutions for comment before formulating a comprehensive policy for implementation. The draft policy says sexual harassment is a reality in classrooms, offices, research laboratories and the higher education environment, may be overt or subtle and can range from visual signals or gestures to verbal abuse or physical contact.

Having received comments from only 10% to 15% of institutions by its deadline for submissions, the Higher Education Commission extended the comment window by a week. An official said comments received so far suggested a positive general response endoring a sexual harassment policy.
Full report on the Dawn site

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