Policy Statement
Ziauddin Schools and Colleges are committed to providing a cooperative and comfortable work environment free of any kind of harassment or abuse. This policy is intended to be
consistent with, and intended to be in conformance with, Pakistan’s anti-harassment laws and Protection Against Harassment of Women in the Workplace.
Ziauddin Schools and Colleges forbid discrimination against any employee or student under any circumstances and conditions. In particular, Ziauddin Education System will not tolerate sexual harassment by any of its employees.
Rationale
Harassment, in any of its forms, violates the essential dignity of the individual.
Because protecting the rights and dignity of young people and promoting justice are central to ethical codes in education, as a school we believe we should demonstrate leadership in challenging any incidents or cultures around harassment in schools.
Current civil legislation exists in Pakistan which addresses sexual harassment in an uncompromising manner and makes serious demands of administrators and teachers in schools.
Definitions
Sexual harassment includes any kind of behaviour that targets a person’s gender to gain or reinforce power and dominance over that person. Sexual harassment demeans the victim and is distinguished from healthy interpersonal relations. It is based on unequal relationships and the victim of sexual harassment is made to feel powerless and uncomfortable through fear, hurt, embarrassment or anger. Sexual harassment in any form is not tolerated by Ziauddin Schools.
Where there is no sexual intention there can still be harassment, and this should not be overlooked either. Where there is any aggressive pressure or intimidation to perform tasks, or to prescribe inaction, this is considered as harassment and is equally not tolerated in Ziauddin Schools.
Abuse has many forms. It can be verbal, emotional, psychological or physical. Any form of abuse is not tolerated by Ziauddin Schools.
Abuse also has a number of types:
- Abuse of authority is the use of authorised powers due to position in the organisation for the purposes of illegitimate private gain
- Bullying is an attempt through physical or psychological threats to intimidate, humiliate or demean for fun, or to force an action or consequence (this can be face-to-face or cyber-bullying)
Reporting, Investigation, and Sanctions
- It is the express policy of Ziauddin Schools to encourage victims of harassment/ sexual harassment/ abuse to report such claims. This may be done through reporting to the Ziauddin HR Department directly.
- Employees who feel that their superiors are conditioning promotions, salary increments, or other terms or conditions of employment upon agreement to unwelcome conduct or as restitution for abusive behaviour, are encouraged to report these conditions to HR.
For items (1) and (2) above, HR will undertake investigation of the claim of harassment or abuse, and will follow the Standard Operating Procedures for Ziauddin Education regarding actions.
- Students are also urged to report any conduct of a sexual nature, or abuse by school employees, to the school Principal.
In the first instance, the Principal should be the first point of contact for students.
- Any employee found to have engaged in harassment or abuse of any kind shall be subject to sanctions, including, but not limited to, warning or reprimand, suspension, or termination.