SEXUAL HARASSMENT LEGISLATION OVERDUE

The plan by Government, announced by President of the Senate, Dr Linda Babool, on Saturday, to bring legislation shortly to Parliament to deal with sexual harassment of women at all levels including on the streets and in the workplace is welcome. The question is why has it taken so long? Sexual harassment of women wherever it takes place is both wrong and cowardly, not to mention despicable. Although those doing the harassing seek to degrade their “victims” and may feel, by a strange mental sleight of hand, that it is an example of their being in control, their actions, nonetheless, generally result from their own insecurity. If it is bad on the streets, it is far worse in the workplace particularly in a boss-worker situation, or in the classroom where male teachers may be sexually harassing female students.

The female worker may see in her compliance the opportunity not merely to secure her job but a chance at promotion over fellow employees who may both be senior in service and more competent that she. In turn, a female pupil at a primary or secondary school may view the attention of the male teacher in purely simplistic terms — of having been found attractive or being favoured by “teach.” On the other hand, a female student at a university, who has been receiving poor grades may yield to the sexual harassment by the male lecturer cynically using it as a vehicle to seek to obtain higher grades, either through being able to access examination papers beforehand, or in the lecturer assisting her with the writing of the papers. Either situation is morally wrong, and with respect to the teacher/lecturer wholly unethical. And while there are mechanisms in the Teaching Service Commission through which a teacher can be disciplined and at the University of the West Indies and the University of Trinidad and Tobago, should these circumstances arise, it is, however, a good thing that a special law to deal with sexual harassment per se is to be introduced and placed on the Statute books of the country.

Admittedly, women and young girls enjoy a measure of protection under common law, but the soon to come legislation as noted by Senate President, Dr Baboolal, should with its passage and enactment significantly reduce the incidence of sexual harassment. Women, teenage and pre-teen girls should have the specific right to be protected from being annoyed by not too subtle whistling, “sooting” and lewd, suggestive and provocative remarks while walking along roadways; or in public places, in schools, in workplaces, in parks, at parties, on the beaches or wherever male insecurity lurks. While the proposed anti-sexual harassment legislation is good, the principle should have been recognised a long time ago as one of Trinidad and Tobago’s “Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms.” We wish to make clear at this point that although we have dealt at length with the sexual harassment of females by males, any law dealing with sexual harassment should target as well sexual harassment of males by females, which happens even though in a minority of cases, and same sex and other harassment of and by homosexuals and lesbians.

However, even as we welcome the announcement of the intended legislation it would be remiss of us not to point out our concern that it should have been made by the President of the Senate and not by an active politician. Indeed, we would like to believe that Senate President Dr Baboolal on reflection would have noted that not only would it have been better had she left the announcement to someone else in the ruling Party, the People’s National Movement, but that her quoted wording, “We will soon be bringing legislation to Parliament on this matter of sexual harassment” did not allow for a clear distancing of her Office, however unintentionally, from that of the Government.