Bahraini.TV

Sexual Assault in the Workplace is on the Rise in the Wealthy Gulf state but Women Remain Quiet for Fear of Repercussions.

[Manama, Bahrain] Eman has taken on two jobs to support her family but every day when she goes to work she fears inappropriate sexual remarks and advances from her boss.

“I have not informed my husband and family fearing public humiliation,” Eman told the Media Line on condition of anonymity. “In the Gulf states, we women prefer to keep quiet and continue to suffer in silence.”

Her story is just one of many shocking cases the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions is handling to address an increase in sexual harassment cases against women in the workplace. The main union body in the country says this year several such cases have surfaced due to the global financial crisis, of which most go unreported.

“We receive several calls from women working in different sectors from hotels to banks complaining of harassment by their officemates,” Suad Mubarak, head of the Women and Child Affairs Committee at the Federation said.

In the recent climate of mass dismissal and restructuring policies adopted by companies dealing with the credit crunch, many employers took advantage of female workers.

“Women are afraid to lodge a formal complaint because they would lose their jobs and it will affect their reputations,” Mubarak stated.

The Union body registered over 30 companies including banks, law firms and businesses who intended to lay off employees. With this added threat, the Women and Child Affairs Committee is holding weekly meetings where cases are discussed and employers are notified by the Federation.

Despite being flooded with calls, not a single woman has come forward to file a police complaint.

The Federation has some 70 trade unions under its umbrella covering over 30,000 workers in the country. In a recent case in which a Bahraini woman working in retail filed a complaint against her Non-Bahraini supervisor for sexual harassment, she paid the price for being vocal and lost her job, while her boss still continues to work.

The situation is worse in the hospitality sector. Mubarak said women were not given the wages promised in their contracts and continued to be pressured by their employers. On average they earn 25%-30% less than their male counterparts in equivalent positions. This comes despite women occupying a significant proportion of the workforce. In 2006 women made up 26% of the private sector and 43.3% of the public sector.

“Women do not want to spoil their reputation and professional careers by lodging a complaint,” Mubarak said.

The situation for female migrant domestic workers, who are not covered by the Gulf state’s labor laws, is desperate. Their problems are only further compounded by the absence of any legislation against sexual harassment in the workplace.

Sexual offenses in the Kingdom are classed either as actual assaults or rape, ignoring verbal sexual remarks and other threatening behavior. The penal code does however specify punishment for any indecent act in public or by telephone.

“We have no statistics to show authorities that the problem is present in the community as no one comes forward,” Mubarak said. “If we have victims registering their cases against their bosses at the Federation we can establish a database and forward it to the police and government.”

Unionists and women rights advocates are now urgently calling upon lawmakers to enact anti-sexual harassment laws to protect women working in the kingdom. It remains to be seen whether a law on sexual harassment can even be discussed in an Islamist dominated parliament which still refuses to pass laws against wife beating.

(Some names have been changed to protect identities)