News
Reducing workplace sexual harassment: Three barriers and solutions identified
Verité Research’s Law and Governance Division hands over new report to Labour Ministry
Victims of workplace sexual harassment face three main barriers when seeking justice in Sri Lanka, according to a new study conducted by the Law and Governance Division of Verité Research. The report, titled ‘Sexual Harassment at the Workplace: Overcoming Barriers to Justice’, was handed over to the Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara on Friday (01 Dec.).
Verité Research discussed the report’s findings with the Minister, emphasising issues in the legal framework and suggesting recommendations to address workplace sexual harassment. The think-tank also recommended enhancing and expanding protections against workplace sexual harassment by incorporating them into the ongoing draft Employment Bill, as part of efforts to expedite legislative reform.
The report draws from the diverse approaches taken by countries such as the Philippines, Peru, Japan, Mexico and Iraq to reduce sexual harassment in the workplace.
It identifies three barriers that need to be overcome:
1. The lack of an adequate legal definition on sexual harassment, despite disparate legislative provisions scattered across different laws.
2. Institutional barriers such as legal delays and high burdens of proof within the criminal justice system.
3. Entrenched cultural barriers and a lack of awareness, which further compounds the plight of victims.
The solutions recommended by the report include:
1. To adopt the internationally recognised definition of ‘violence and harassment’ at the workplace – this includes criminalising voyeurism and providing broader protections against sexual harassment that involves the use of digital or electronic media or images, audio, or videos that have sexual content.
2. To adopt civil legislative changes regarding employer liability for sexual harassment as a complimentary mechanism to the current criminal offense. Employers should be responsible for implementing a minimum set of measures to mitigate and address workplace sexual harassment – this includes internal complaint and inquiry mechanisms, as well as facilitating access to alternative dispute resolution.
3. To enhance education, training and awareness, for law enforcement agencies, in larger workplaces, through school curricula, and for the general public – the report outlines specific approaches that can be adopted for each of these categories.
Not only female victims
The report by Verité Research law and governance division also underscores that workplace sexual harassment extends beyond conventional gender boundaries in Sri Lanka. While women are particularly vulnerable, men as well as individuals with diverse gender identities are also vulnerable. Persons with disabilities, youth, migrant workers, and members of the LGBTQI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex) community in Sri Lanka, identified as minority groups, face a higher likelihood of victimisation in this regard.
The full report is available at: www.veriteresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/20231031SexualHarassmentat TheWorkPlaceFinal.pdf
The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CEYPETCO) has announced a revision of fuel prices, effective from midnight on Saturday (May 30).
Accordingly,
the price of Auto Diesel has been increased by Rs. 15 to Rs.407 per liter,
the price of Super Diesel has been increased by Rs. 20 to Rs. 478 per liter.
the price of Petrol 92 Octane has been increased by Rs. 24 to Rs. 434 per liter
the price of Petrol 95 Octane up by Rs. 25 to Rs. 495 per liter
the price of kerosene by Rs. 20 to Rs. 285 per liter.
Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has called for a comprehensive reform programme within Sri Lanka’s Buddhist clergy, warning that repeated efforts to strengthen the Sasana have in the past been derailed by opposition from within sections of the Sangha itself.
In a statement addressed to the Mahanayake Theras of the three Buddhist chapters, Kumaratunga stressed that the long-term preservation of Buddhism depends on safeguarding both the Dhamma and Vinaya, or disciplinary code, and urged urgent internal reform to address what she described as deep-rooted structural weaknesses.
She noted that Buddhist history has consistently demonstrated that periods of institutional crisis were addressed through reform processes, citing precedents from the First Buddhist Council to reforms during the Kandyan era under Welivita Sri Saranankara Thera.
Referring to post-independence efforts, Kumaratunga said initiatives taken during the 1956 Bandaranaike administration to strengthen Buddhism were left incomplete following the assassination of former Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike.
She further stated that during her own presidency, plans to convene a Buddhist Council under the guidance of the late Madihe Pannasiha Mahanayake Thera had received government backing but were ultimately abandoned due to resistance from certain sections within the clergy.
The former President alleged that, on both occasions, vested interests benefiting from existing weaknesses within the Buddhist establishment had worked to obstruct meaningful reform efforts.
Warning that Buddhism in Sri Lanka is currently facing serious challenges, she called for a broad internal dialogue within the Sangha to identify root causes and implement both short- and long-term corrective measures.
Kumaratunga urged the Mahanayake Theras to take the lead in convening a Dharma Sanghayana, or Buddhist Council, and said she was prepared to work with senior lay Buddhist leaders to support such an initiative.
The Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court on Friday ordered the arrest of former Minister Basil Rajapaksa, Tourism Promotion Bureau Chairman Bhashwara Gunaratne, Managing Director Rumi Jauffer and several others over the alleged misuse of Rs. 7.8 million belonging to the Tourism Promotion Authority during the 2014 Uva Provincial Council election campaign.
Magistrate Pasan Amarasena directed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to arrest and produce the suspects before court, after it was informed that they would be named under the Public Property Act on the advice of the Attorney General.
The CID told court that attempts to take the suspects into custody from their residences had been unsuccessful as they were not present.
The Magistrate also imposed an overseas travel ban on the suspects and ordered that the Controller of Immigration and Emigration be notified.
Investigations have reportedly revealed that the funds were used to print 12,000 T-shirts bearing an image of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa on one side and the name of a political party on the other.
According to the CID, the T-shirts were later distributed at a political event held in the Monaragala District.
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