A national workshop on Voicing and Challenging Workplace Sexual Harassment, organized by the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), was held at the BRAC Centre Inn Auditorium on Wednesday, 25 May 2022. At the event, a research report and four policy briefs based on a recent study (The gendered price of precarity: sexual harassment in the workplace) were launched. The research has been conducted with the support of The British Academy, and in collaboration with the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), Sussex, and Shobujer Ovijan Foundation (SOF).
In the opening remarks, Dr Imran Matin, Executive Director of BIGD, said, “This study focuses heavily on youth. Given the large youth demographic in Bangladesh, and our goal of turning this demographic into dividend through active labour market participation, it is imperative that we ensure a gender decent working environment for the women who make up half of this target demographic. We must enable their agency, specifically by integrating workplace sexual harassment prevention and protection in active labour market policies and programs.”
Lopita Huq, Research Fellow, BIGD, and Maheen Sultan, Senior Fellow of Practice, BIGD, delivered the keynote presentation, where they highlighted how language, social, and gender norms constrain young women’s voice and agency in response to sexual harassment, and how these practices normalize sexual harassment and the existing gaps in formal and informal institutions.
This was followed by a presentation on The Language of Harassment – Gaps Between Perception and Expression, delivered by Dr Asifa Sultana, Associate Professor, Department of English and Humanities, BRAC University.
Tamjid Prohor, Youth Volunteer, SOF, delivered a presentation on Young People’s Perception of Workplace Sexual Harassment, sharing insights from research where the women domestic workers’ views on domestic work and workplace sexual harassment were compared with those of their fathers and husbands.
Meem Manzur, Youth Volunteer, SOF, presented on Addressing Workplace Sexual Harassment of Young Female Domestic Workers, highlighting the wide range and severity of harassment reportedly faced by domestic workers. According to the research, the majority of domestic workers had experienced physical abuse at least once, and some of them had faced severe physical abuse.
After the official launch of the IDS research report and the policy briefs, a panel discussion among the distinguished guests was conducted, including Dr Md. Mustafizur Rahman, Joint Inspector General, Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE), Mr Abul Hossain, Advisor and Founder, National Domestic Women Workers Union, and Mr Rasel Kabir, Assistant General Manager, Quality Management System and Compliance, PRAN Group. The panel discussion, moderated by Mahmuda Begum, Executive Director, Shobujer Ovijan Foundation, was opened to the audience afterwards.
In her speech, the Chief Guest of the event, Ms Shirin Akhter, Honourable MP of Feni-1 and Founder of Kormojibi Nari said, “For domestic workers, her job is a large part of her life – it ensures her livelihood and is a source of respect for her. Once she faces such incidents of sexual harassment in her workplace, it is a huge blow to her work ethic. If she is not physically and mentally present and attentive to her work, her productivity will not increase. It is necessary for us to measure the loss in productivity.”
The concluding remarks were provided by Maheen Sultan, Senior Fellow of Practice, BIGD. The workshop was also attended by other noted journalists and media personnel from the industry.
