Employers will have to pay compensation to the victims of sexual
harassment if they are found to have been at fault under a new
legislation in southwest China's Sichuan Province.
The Implementation Measures of the Law on the Protection of the
Rights and Interests of Women targets sexual harassment using
words, letters, images, communication and body language.
Employers are obliged to adopt measures to prevent such
situations from happening on their premises.
If employers are found to have permitted any assaults on a
woman's body, spirit or reputation, they will assume related civil
compensation liability.
More than half of the 11,669 women respondents to a survey
conducted earlier this year by the People's Daily website
said they had experienced sexual harassment at work.
In an online poll on sina.com yesterday, 50.74 percent of the
7,126 participants agreed that employers should compensate victims
of harassment, compared to 39.7 percent who said they should
not.
Experts lauded the new regulation, but were not optimistic about
its practicality.
"It is a landmark move as no one has ever attempted to implement
such a regulation before," said Li Ying, a professor at the Law
School of Beijing University.
"It will empower women and make the work environment more
conducive for their growth."
However, Qiu Baochang, dean of the Beijing-based Huijia Law
Firm, said it would be tough to enforce, "especially in a country
where co-workers go to bars and KTV together all the time".
"It is so hard to assign fault because it is hard to figure out
what really happens between male and female employees."
"Should an employer arrange separate rooms for male and female
employees?" he said.
The Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Women
took effect in 1992. It enumerates women's rights and interests in
politics, culture and education, labor, property, marriage and
family.
Local provinces can adopt their own measures for the law's
implementation under its guidelines.
The latest revised details for implementation of Sichuan, a
province with 42.5 million women, also highlights gender equality.
It bars prejudice against women and protects their special
interests.
(China Daily October 12, 2007)