378 workplace harassment cases registered during last four years

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Law and Justice, Dr Muhammad Farogh Naseem Tuesday told the Senate that the Federal Ombudsman for Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace had registered some 378 cases during the last four years.

Answering a question of Senator Muhammad Azam Khan Swati, he said 145 complaints were received from Islamabad Capital Territory, 153 from Punjab, 53 from Sindh, 22 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, four from Balochistan and one from Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

He said 220 cases were received from government departments.

Inquiries in 50 cases were being carried out by the respective departments while penalties were imposed on the culprits in 49 cases.

In two cases, the penalty of removal from service was imposed while censure letters were issued in seven cases.

Whereas in 15 cases, the penalties ranged from the stoppage of increment to withholding promotion and to compensate the complainant were imposed.

The minister said 20 cases were received from various organisations in 2014, six of them from universities, including Quaid-e-Azam University, LUMS and Virtual Kohat University.

Five cases were reported from Postal Services, two from Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF) and one each from hospitals, Lok Virsa, Gun and Country Club, RTI, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination.

He said 83 cases were reported in 2015, 53 in 2016, 43 in 2017 and 21 in 2018