EUAM Iraq, together with the High Council for Women and Development, conducted a workshop on “Dealing with Sexual Harassment at the Workplace”. The event was held in Erbil, Kurdish region of Iraq, Between May 16 and 18, attracting wide media interest. 11 participants from various ministries, as well as the media, benefitted from the workshop.
EUAM Iraq’s Gender and Human Rights adviser Anette Schwitzke opened the workshop by underlining that sexual harassment is present in every culture and every country in the world. She also added that it is in the interest of every institution to create a work environment where everyone feels respected and safe - an environment that is free of harassment and discrimination of any kind. This, in turn, means more productivity for the institutions.
The currently valid Iraqi Labor Law of 2015 in Article 10 clearly ‘prohibits sexual harassment in employment and education’. The law also ‘prohibits any other behavior that creates a hostile, intimidating, or offending work environment’.
No such provisions are contained in the 1987 version of the Iraqi Labor Law, which is still in use in the Kurdish Region of Iraq.
However, in all of Iraq, sexual harassment in the workplace is hardly ever reported. A male-dominated work environment and a society, which is only partially supportive of female professional engagement, put the shame and stigma on women. Most institutions also lack clear policies, structures, and processes to deal with incidents and cater to the needs of affected staff.
The 3-day workshop was specifically requested by the High Council for Women and Development, responsible for protecting women’s rights in the Kurdistan Region (KRI) and advising the Prime Minister of KRI on issues related to gender. The event’s aim was to explore the role of institutions in addressing this challenge. It approached the issue in three steps:
- Creating a common understanding of what sexual harassment means and highlighting the factors which support it
- Approaching the issue on different levels, from the perspective of national legislation to institutional responsibilities and individual options for actions
- Examining existing policies, structures, and processes within the respective institutions, identifying gaps and next steps towards a duty of care concept
The activity was supporting the implementation of the Kurdish National Action Plan (NAP) on the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, on women, peace, and security (UNSCR 1325), in accordance with EUAM Iraq’s mandate. In the Kurdish NAP an explicit activity to promote the participation of women in leadership and decision-making is to “improve the working environment so that it is more gender-sensitive”.
Dr. Khanzad Ahmad, High Representative and Secretary General of the High Council for Women and Development commented on the importance of the workshop and the institution’s further plans:
‘When talking about sexual harassment, there are two important pillars – protection and prevention. We need prevention and that’s where this workshop comes in. We are really glad EUAM Iraq is helping us in this matter. We also understand prevention takes a lot of time and will need to be continuous.
As an aftermath of the workshop, we will put together recommendations to the government to adopt better and firmer plans. More action on the topic will be needed, but the workshop is a big and very important first step’.
Halez Ali Hussein, Director of the High Council for Women and Development went on to add:
‘It is important firstly to raise awareness on the topic, encourage women to talk. Secondly, to create a good environment and have gender equality in the workplace. And thirdly, allow women to become independent financially, reach their full potential and have their own achievements. We are also planning an amendment to the Act of Combating Domestic Violence in Kurdistan Region – Iraq [2011]. At present, it has 13 categories, but it doesn’t talk about sexual violence. We want to add the 14th on sexual harassment’.
All in all, the workshop was attended by 11 officials from the ministries of education, justice, interior, labour and social affairs, culture and youth, higher education and scientific research, as well as several media channels. The participants were keen to approach the subject from the viewpoints of their respective organisations in order to develop and implement a sexual harassment policy that takes into consideration the needs of their institutions, as well as, importantly, the local context and customs.
For media coverage on the workshop, see: Kurdistan24 - www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXPIsjuDKNc (Extract 2:26-4:40, followed by interview – 21:29)
