One in five women experiences a form of sexual harassment in the workplace, according to the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement (FWRM).

FWRM executive director, Nalini Singh said a 2016 study conducted by the organisation with 1013 working women in Suva, Nadi, Lautoka and Labasa revealed these results.

Ms Singh said sexual harassment was not acceptable and it must be stopped.

She said a campaign against sexual harassment was an awareness raising initiative to stop sexual harassment in the workplace using data from their 2016 survey.

“This study is a follow-up to FWRM’s ground breaking study conducted in 2002, and was the first campaign we are doing to stop sexual harassment in the work place,” Ms Singh said.

She said the campaign is important to a country like Fiji because Fiji has had the Employment Relations Promulgation (ERP) since 2007 which makes sexual harassment unacceptable in the work place mandatory.

“Despite this national effort, women are still not aware of these provisions in the law.

“This campaign is an attempt to raise awareness on this aspect of the Employment Relations Promulgation (ERP) 2007,’ said Ms Singh.

She said this provision was not only for women, but workers of Fiji information on avenues of redress in situations of sexual harassment.

The target audience for their campaign is Fiji workers in the formal sector and their employees.

Part of FWRM campaign includes publishing and disseminating info-graphics posters and pocket pamphlets that contain findings from the 2016 research.

The campaign started this month and will end in June.

Edited by Caroline Ratucadra

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