JAMAICA-BGA reports at least 50 cases of sexual harassment complaints.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The Principal Director of the Bureau of Gender Affairs (BGA), Sharon Coburn Robinson, says 50 cases of sexual harassment complaints have, so far, been referred to the Sexual Harassment Tribunal, whose members were sworn into office in July last year.

She told the Caucus of Women Parliamentarians that of these cases that reported so far, “most of them have come from within the public sector and some are from the private sector. “The information I saw is that… over 60 per cent of the cases… have been dealt with, and some are still being addressed,” she added.

The Tribunal was established under the Sexual Harassment (Protection and Prevention) Act to hear and determine complaints and to make awards. Mrs. Coburn Robinson said that not all sexual harassment cases are heard by the Tribunal and that some are dealt with at the divisional level by Human Resources (HR).

She said that the legislation provides that once a complaint has been made, the HR practitioner has a responsibility to inform the person to whom the case has been brought, or the complaint has been registered, within 48 hours.

Following the notification, the HR practitioner or whoever has focal point responsibility must call the parties together for a hearing or conversation, and, where possible, secure a resolution at that level.

Mrs. Coburn Robinson explained that the legislation requires that all remedies or procedures existing at the local level be exhausted before it is brought to the Tribunal.

“But if there is no HR or there might be other matters in terms of the person feeling as if it’s taking too long or there is something that causes the person who is the complainant to feel as if it’s not going to be in his or her favour, then that person can bring the case straight to the tribunal”.

The BGA Principal Director said that tribunal meetings are held as often as possible and that ‘the idea is that all of the cases are going to be treated with the utmost priority because there is a zero-tolerance approach to any form of harassment that is done to any person.

“Once somebody complains of harassment, then the tribunal has a responsibility to ensure that it is treated with as swift a manner as possible,” she said.