Women in Trinidad and Tobago are most often harassed via text message or email.
This was revealed by Minister of Labour and Small Enterprise Development Jennifer Baptiste-Primus as she announced the National Workplace Policy on Sexual Harassment in Parliament on Friday.
Reading statistics from a 2017 National Women’s Health Survey for Trinidad and Tobago, Primus said 13 per cent of women experienced sexual harassment at work, in public transport and public spaces.
The survey confirmed the most common type of harassment came via electronic messages with sexual content at eight per cent (8%).
It was followed by reports of being groped in a public space, seven per cent (7%).
The survey also found that 84% of sexual harassment experiences were not reported.
Primus said the new policy was a crucial step in battling the problem of sexual harassment in the country.
“For far too long, victims of sexual harassment in the workplace have borne pain and suffering in silence as the perpetrators of this disgraceful and unacceptable behaviour have utilised intimidation, victim shaming and abuse of power to get away with it, without facing any sanction or penalty,” said Primus.
The Minister said the policy “clarifies the ambiguity of what is sexual harassment in Trinidad and Tobago by setting out definitions, identifying core values and aims, amongst other important concepts and identifying the actions we can all take, in our roles at the workplace, to address this issue.”
The policy defined sexual harassment as “any physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature and other conduct affecting the dignity of women and men, which is unwelcome, unreasonable, and offensive to the recipient; and a person’s rejection of, or submission to, such conduct is used to explicitly or implicitly as a basis for a decision which affects that person’s job; or (hostile work environment) conduct that creates an intimidating, hostile or humiliating working environment for the recipient.”
Primus explained that our country’s culture was considered in the policy.
Primus said, “In defining sexual harassment in our cultural context the policy also explains that occasional compliments that are socially and culturally acceptable and appropriate are generally not considered sexual harassment.”
However, she admitted context was important, “the perceptions in different contexts of what constitutes sexual harassment in the workplace are extremely diverse, but the key characteristic of sexual harassment is that it is unwelcomed and/or unwanted by the recipient.”
She also clarified that harassment can occur at various levels with any worker or employer being a perpetrator or a victim. She also stressed that men and women can also be harassed by members of their own sex.
Primus said the policy applies to all employers, prospective employers and workers, including household assistants, apprentices and trainees.
She explained the policy also applies to subcontractors, volunteers, patients, clients (including hospitality and the tourism industry).
The Labour Minister said that migrant workers were also covered by the policy.
“It would be remiss of me to not recognise that migrant workers experience sexual and other types of exploitation as well as sexual harassment at work. Migrant workers and in particular female migrant workers face several vulnerabilities and I wish to make it pellucidly clear that this policy applies to all workers, regardless of their residency status,” said Primus.
Consultations on the Draft National Workplace Policy on Sexual Harassment in Trinidad began on June 1, 2018. On that date, Primus revealed that she too suffered harassment and had almost lost her job as a result of it.
Consultations in Tobago began on June 22, 2018.
The full policy can be viewed on the Ministry’s website.