Somyyah Owais, Saima Hamid.
Employee awareness and perception of sexual harassment at hospitals: an exploratory study.
Pak J Public Health Jan ;5(4):50-3.
Objective: The Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace Act' was passed in Pakistan in 2010 to promote a safe working environment for women. The objective of the study was to assess the awareness of healthcare providers about the Act and its implementation in the public sector hospitals of Islamabad. Methods: A qualitative study was carried out with the working staff of public sector hospitals in Islamabad. Altogether 18 participants were interviewed; 13 doctors, 3 nurses and 2 health managers who had been working at the hospitals for at least the past 6 months. Display of information and general awareness about the Act, organization-specic actions taken to implement the Act of 2010, common practices and experiences along with perceptions regarding workplace harassment of women and possible training/management needs were assessed. Results: The three themes identied in the study were: 1) Poor Harassment Awareness Information and implementation; 2) need for implementation of Act; 3) Poor recognition of need for Protection against harassment. All the participants explained that there was no visually displayed information that promoted awareness against harassment of women at workplace at their hospital. Only 12 respondents were aware of the Act. Most respondents expressed their doubt about the effectiveness of the Act even if it were implemented. Conclusion: The study showed that healthcare providers had poor awareness about the Harassment Act. Moreover, they do not recognize the need for it as they feel that it is not possible to implement it in true spirits. Key Words: Workplace, females, provocation/heath care.
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