Problem Statement: Legal illiteracy about laws on workplace harassment results in disempowered communities.

Target Group: Mid-career professionals engaged in the formal labour sector.

Proposed Solution: People especially women and gender minorities need to be made aware of the laws on harassment.

Hub Activities: Curating legal literacy and awareness workshops so that people can be made cognisant of the rights enshrined in the laws of the land and the avenues from where legal redress can be sought in case a right is infringed.

Project Summary: In collaboration with Virtual Legal Advisory, an online awareness workshop was curated which specially focused on Prevention and Response to sexual harassment; the relevant Pakistani Penal Code provisions on harassment; the key provisions from the 2010 & 2022 Acts and PECA 2016; the actions that constitute workplace harassment, the Inquiry procedure at workplaces, filing a complaint with the Ombudsperson. Some of the landmark judgments were explored and how the definition of harassment now encompasses gender discrimination and hostile work environment; the focus then shifted to the concept of an Active Bystander and intervention strategies. Participants were shown videos on distraction, confrontation, documentation, and delegation so that they could be empowered to deal with any incident involving harassment at the workplace.

Short Term Goal: Ensuring the formation of disciplinary committees as postulated in the law on workplace harassment at corporate offices.

Long Term Goal: Individuals taking up corporate positions need to be aware of the various rights that they have under the various laws and therefore the ultimate goal is a legally literate and empowered society.

Available Metrics: A short survey was conducted to assess knowledge regarding workplace harassment laws among the members of the cohort trained and a similar exercise was repeated after the workshop to gauge the improvement in understanding regarding the same laws.

Project’s Collaborators: Virtual Legal Advisory Group