Silence on gender-based harassment in workplaces gets louder

• By Nuzla Rizkiya

In a disheartening revelation, a recent study conducted by the Women’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce Sri Lanka (WCIC) shed light on the alarming silence surrounding gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) against women in workplaces.

A study that took the views of respondents from diverse professional backgrounds in the country revealed that a staggering 80 percent of female workers chose to remain silent when faced with instances of harassment.

WCIC Strategy Consultant Tusitha Kumarakulasingam shared that many women were of the view that reporting such incidents may jeopardise their professional advancement or result in retaliation from 
the perpetrators.

“In the private sector, there is some intervention; say for instance, if your colleagues see somebody getting harassed or bullied, they might intervene. But in the public sector, they believe that it is better to observe and just keep quiet and not get involved. This is possibly because they also don’t see any positive action that will take place thereafter,” Kumarakulasingam said, sharing the findings of the study at the WCIC Women’s Leadership Forum, last week.

A lack of faith in the existing reporting channels makes it difficult for the female workers to come forward with their experiences, she added.

Furthermore, the government sector employees exhibited a reluctance to disclose their experiences of violence and harassment, which was particularly noticeable in the age group 36 years and above. They demonstrated a greater tendency for silence, compared to their younger counterparts, the 
study revealed.

“This is like an underlying problem that is simmering but you don’t see anything on the surface. So, obviously, you’re going to have some problems erupting in the future. People will leave and things like that will happen. But the environment is still not ready for people to freely express what they have when they encounter something that is not right,” Kumarakulasingam further commented.

The WCIC study, carried out across the Northwestern, Central, Western and Southern provinces, comprised a sample size of 347 individuals, encompassing 293 professionals and 54 entrepreneurs. This diverse sample represented individuals from all ethnicities within the country.