5-yr police plan to address sexual harassment, stalking

Says NBK Tripura

20 May 2010, 18:00 PM

Staff Correspondent

The five-year plan of police will address the issues of sexual harassment and stalking considerably, said Additional IGP NBK Tripura at a programme yesterday. A number of steps are also being taken by the government to stop such misconduct, he added. The additional IGP said this at 'Sensitisation workshop with police officials on gender equality and sexual harassment of women at workplace' at Biam auditorium in the city. Alliance for Women Workers Rights (AWWR) in association with ILO Country office for Bangladesh organised the workshop. “Training will also be provided on sensitisation of women police regarding sexual harassment at work,” Tripura said, urging all policemen and women to lend a hand to stop sexual harassment at workplace. Development cannot be achieved without ensuring gender parity in a country, and awareness building to stop sexual harassment is crucial for empowerment of women, said Gagan Rajbhandari, director, a.i., International Labour Organisation, Dhaka. AWWR placed a set of recommendations to combat sexual harassment at workplace, including massive awareness among policy makers, law enforcement agencies and employers. Ward-based community policing could be a protective measure. Again there must be a code of conduct in every organisation or institution along with a gender-friendly working atmosphere. The recommendations also included that ratio of men and women is also required in an organisation and moral lesson against any sort of sexual harassment can be included in academic curriculum. Strict implementation of law in required and dilly-dallying of legal procedures must be stopped to help victims. Ishrat Sharmin, chairman of AWWR, Taleya Rahman, vice-chairperson, and Quazi Baby, treasurer, also spoke.