Ho Chi Minh City fights against sexual harassment in the workplace

A consultation workshop was held in HCM City on May 24 to discuss the draft of a standard operating procedure for dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace. – VNA/VNS photo: Thanh Vũ

HCM CITY – HCM City develops a standard procedure for dealing with acts that constitute sexual harassment in the workplace.

The city’s Ministry of Labor, Disabilities and Social Affairs, in collaboration with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), organized a consultative workshop on May 24 to discuss the draft standard operating procedure developed by UN Women to address sexual harassment in the workplace in the city.

Speaking at the workshop, UN Women Representative Nguyễn Thị Diệu Hồng said the draft standard operating procedure for dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace would be implemented in accordance with the principles of confidentiality and privacy of both the complainant and the respondent.

In addition, it is ensured that there are no negative consequences for the person required to report and all other parties involved in the procedure.

It is developed on the basis of legal principles and practice.

According to the provisions of Article 118 of the Labor Code of 2019, each employer must adopt its own internal labor regulations. An employer with at least 10 employees must have written internal labor regulations.

The company’s work regulations include measures against sexual harassment in the workplace.

In addition, the Employers’ Regulations on Preventing and Combating Sexual Harassment in the Workplace contained in Article 85 of Decree 145/2020 regulate the implementation of a number of articles of the Labour Code regarding working conditions and labour relations.

Hồng said the draft standard operating procedure for dealing with sexual harassment would be implemented in seven steps, including receiving complaints, resolving internal disputes through mediation if the case is “not very serious”, appointing a person to review the case, conducting a review of the case, communicating the review result, and disciplinary action and compensation.

Many experts and representatives of ministries and authorities also agreed that a coordination process must be developed for dealing with complaints about sexual harassment in the workplace.

If the victim of sexual harassment is unable to provide or collect evidence of the sexual harassment to the police, he or she may not be able to apply for legal aid to protect his or her rights, it said.

This procedure aims to extend victims’ rights to legal aid upon application.

Nguyễn Hồng Hà, deputy head of the Labor, Wages and Social Insurance Department at the city’s Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, said companies must clearly identify cases of sexual harassment in their labor regulations.

If the act of sexual harassment has criminal elements, the company must refer the case to the relevant authorities for processing, she said.

Police officer Nguyễn Bảo Khâm said it was right that, given the current situation, Vietnam needed to develop a standard procedure to deal with sexual harassment in the workplace.

After the pilot implementation, adjustments could be made to reflect social reality, he said.

Currently, a complaint of sexual harassment in the workplace can be filed with the police if the resolution of the complaint is not satisfactory.

The district and municipal police initially receive these and, in the event of serious violations, report them to a higher authority.

Nguyễn Tăng Minh, deputy director of the city’s Department of Labor, War Disabled and Social Affairs, said all comments and suggestions would be collected and studied to finalize the draft of a standard operating procedure for dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace. — VNS