Because the truth is told, in my darkest moments, I often questioned why those females had quit, making it difficult for future surgeons to avoid the stigma of social stereotyping and succeed in their chosen professional field.
Why is it crucial that Sexual Harassment be addressed?
A decade ago, when I decided to become a maxillofacial surgeon, I came across many people who questioned my decision. Like many other female medical students and surgeons, they believed I would quit because of my inability to survive in a traditionally male-dominated field. I could not at that time defend myself or those females that had left the profession. Because the truth is told, in my darkest moments, I often questioned why those females had quit, making it difficult for future surgeons to avoid the stigma of social stereotyping and succeed in their chosen professional field. It was only later that understanding what people meant dawned on me. I learnt that many women were forced to leave, whether medicine or dentistry, due to unbearable gender-based discrimination, a toxic work culture, sexual harassment, and abuse. What was disturbing was that so many incidences did not get reported or secretly swept under the carpet.
Those who chose surgery and survived must have a sound and supportive environment at their workplace and social/family system. Despite awareness, advancement, and liberty, there are still unsafe places in our country and a threat for working women.
The Higher Education Commission & Pakistan Medical Commission recently reinforced the importance of anti-harassment policies in academic institutions to foster healthy and safe working environments in educational and training institutions.
Even though these new policies are in place, it has been decided to collect data and evaluate the damage sexual harassment can have on the mental health, emotions, self-esteem, confidence and work performance that causes many to quit.
Due to the fear of social stigma and concerns about the lack of confidentiality in reporting systems, many women do not disclose the extent and nature of such heinous events to the authorities, family and friends. This state of denial restricts them from seeking help and dealing with the anxiety, depression and PTSD caused by the traumatic event. Victims begin to question themselves when contemplating the event and consequence; was I harassed because of something I wore? Was it because of something I said or how I behaved? Could I have done something to prevent it? The burden of self-doubt must be so significant that it causes many to withdraw from work and social settings.
Create a safe working environment at the facility for all individuals, regardless of their gender, so that they are empowered to pursue their career goals without fear of harassment, abuse or discrimination.
It is important to appreciate that males in medicine and dentistry also experience abuse, discrimination and sexual harassment. However, globally, the percentage of females who have such experiences is greater than males. Besides, more males are usually perpetrators of acts of sexual harassment. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, defines harassment as gender-based violence directly affecting women disproportionately rather than men.
Recognising Workplace Sexual Harassment
Much research conducted on issues of sexual harassment in Pakistan reveals time and again that the verbal and physical harassment of women, alongside exploitative and hostile working conditions, is a common phenomenon in the Pakistani workplace. The Inquiry Report on the Status of Women Employment 2003 mentions that nearly 50 per cent of interviewed females working in the public sector have supposedly faced sexual harassment. According to the Pakistani Civil Society, 70 per cent of women in Pakistan experience sexual harassment at the workplace in one form or another.
To understand what these statistics mean for female retention in the key sectors such as healthcare, long-term work performance and physical and psychological health, we need to define and measure a new incidence of sexual harassment.
What is Sexual Harassment?
Sexual harassment also entails a wide range of offences, including but not limited to inappropriate touching, leering, comments of a sexual nature, derogatory name-calling, use of vulgar language, threats of a sexual nature, retaliation due to refusal of sexual favour and sexism. Correct knowledge of sexual harassment is of extreme importance to identify experiences of sexual harassment and report them. According to a survey conducted by a local newspaper, a large percentage of sexual harassment crimes in the workplace remain unreported due to a lack of awareness regarding what sexual harassment entails, victim-blaming and lack of faith in the formal reporting mechanisms.
The Evidence
Following the #Me-too movement, many women, particularly in medicine, came forward with the stories of sexual harassment they had experienced. Some doctors claimed that promotions were denied on the pretext that they were 'less experienced', not 'as committed' as male colleagues or because they didn't succumb to sexual. One former medical resident of a university hospital narrated how her professor, a well-known orthopaedic surgeon, propositioned her whilst operating on a patient under his supervision. "He stood so close to me, shoulder-to-shoulder in the operating room. He told me I'd have to come back to him if I cut my finger while operating.”
Similarly, a research study conducted in Lahore has shown that about 58 per cent of nurses and doctors are sexually harassed, usually at the hands of other doctors, nurses, attendants, patients and visitors. Stories like these are a testament to how females are deprived of the fundamental human right to work and earn a livelihood with dignity.
Contrary to popular belief in Pakistan, most females in low to middle-income families continue to work to fulfil the financial needs of their families. Therefore, when faced with harassment, many do not have the option to quit or file a report. Thus forced by their circumstances, they have to work every day with their harasser, constantly reminded of their trauma.
The #MeToo movement succeeds in generating constructive debate around sexual harassment and the lobbying of strong sexual harassment laws such as The Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2010. However, there are still men and women that advocate practices and behaviour that violates the Act and harkens back to the unfettered days of the past.
Due to the ubiquitous social media, society and the fact that privileged and powerful men and women are perpetrators, many women are still afraid of reporting instances of sexual harassment because of fear of consequences. When this happens, they are afraid of not being taken seriously, of character assassination, of being forced to exit the labour market, of being silenced and, worse, being forced to work in the exact location as the harasser they suffer the humiliation of the harassment in silence.
There is also the huge and important issue of proving that sexual harassment occurred and how the burden of proof is placed solely on the victims. In the process of collecting evidence, many victims encounter uncooperative colleagues, lack of departmental support and management that is bent on maintaining the status quo and protecting the reputation of colleagues and the institution by sacrificing the individual's rights. At other times, it is hard to prove harassment, for instance, in the case of verbal abuse in the absence of witnesses or on the phone. And then, there are cases where victims file complaints after some time has passed. It is common for the authorities and society to blame and shame the victim/s for not coming forward sooner. The fact that the experienced individual confusion, vulnerability and insecurity that commonly occurs as a consequence of harassment is overlooked. In a sense, they also fail to acknowledge that there is no statute of limitation in regard to filing a case.
The Law
The #MeToo movement has successfully raised awareness and made prevention and penalising sexual harassment in the workplace a priority for lawmakers in Pakistan. The Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2010, is one of the first comprehensive sources of protection for women and men against sexual harassment in the workplace nationwide. Under the law, all firms must have a three-member committee made up of at least one woman tasked with looking into harassment cases. One member must be from senior management; the other can be a senior representative of the employees or a senior employee, and the third a chairperson.
The committee is legally required to communicate the charges of harassment to the accused perpetrator within three days of receiving the complaint. The accused can within seven days submit a written defence providing any evidence in his/her favour. If found guilty, the committee can recommend imposing any minor or major penalties on the harasser. Minor penalties include censure, withholding for a specific period, stoppages, or recovery of compensation payable to the complainant from the payor any other source of income of the accused. Significant penalties include demotion to a lower post, compulsory retirement, removal/dismissal from service and a fine.
All parties also have the right to appeal. Any party aggrieved by the decision may, within thirty days, appeal to the Ombudsman (who has been a judge of the high court or qualified to be appointed as a judge of the high court). The Ombudsman within thirty days may ratify or modify the decision after reviewing the relevant material and proceedings of the committee. The Ombudsman shall communicate the decision after review to both the parties and the employer.
An important point to note is, the committee will only initiate an inquiry and take appropriate action against the harasser when harassment is reported. Hence, the law is flawed. Firms are under no legal obligation to monitor workplace harassment or take up anonymous complaints.
More importantly, the issue of whether the employees are aware of the existence of the law itself, understand the many faces of harassment, how to go about raising the alarm and emotionally coping with the situation are all areas that remain unaddressed.
The Way Forward
Uzma Al-Karim, a former special adviser to the Sindh ombudsperson, believes only a mindset change will make workplaces safer for women. Until then, we have the moral obligation to enforce the laws within our respective areas to ensure zero-tolerance for all forms of harassment in a work environment, perhaps most importantly to create awareness about the issue sensitively.
Hence it is very important for all, whether male or female, to make our workplaces safer, especially when dealing with young and vulnerable individuals (undergraduate students, postgraduate residents, staff & patients).
While it may be true that the true extent, distribution and numerous types of harassment will never be known because of lack of disclosure by victims, education and awareness will gradually erode and hopefully erase social and emotional taboos that inhibit victims today.
Therefore it is important for all to appreciate that harassment is not just a social issue but disease and aberration that can destroy the ambitions of many upcoming talented women (and men), thus depriving the health care system and communities of the future because we as agents of change were unable to alter the mindset of our society.
Sensitisation and education about sexual harassment are also important. Victims and transgressors are unaware of what constitutes harassment. Constitution and dissemination of harassment policy must be ensured and reaffirmed from time to time.
The author is the Professor & Consultant Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon at Liaquat College of Medicine and Dentistry and can be reached at tahera_ayub@yahoo.com
