The joint select committee (JSC) to begin A Debate in parliament On sexual harassment

The report from the JSC, which was tabled by Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sports Olivia “Babsy” Grange in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, said that “the committee agreed that sexual harassment can be perpetrated by clients, from one student to another, and that employees can harass employers”.
In terms of the Limitation of Action, the committee agreed that the time limit allowed for the reporting of sexual harassment cases should be six years and not 12 months.
The increased time limit was among several controversial proposals from the human rights group Jamaicans For Justice. After a row within the committee, Justice Minister Delroy Chuck's disagreement was fuelled with a limit beyond 12 months.
The report said that the committee recommended that the 12-member Sexual Abuse Tribunal, which is to be established to hear complaints, be empowered to enlarge time — which means granting permission to a complainant, who complains of time, to bring their matter to the tribunal.
However, it cautioned that “such permission should only be granted, once the complainant can give a reason as to why the complaint was not made in time”.
The committee also proposed the review period for the legislation. The initial Bill had a review period of five years. However, the committee felt that, given the unique nature of the legislation, an earlier review period was needed.
“This earlier review period would evaluate the efficacy of the systems and structures that will be involved in the use of this legislation. For those reasons, it was agreed that a review period of eighteen months would be significant,” Grange told the House of Representatives.
She said that the need to maintain a confidential register in sexual harassment cases is crucial. Several complaints of sexual harassment are often made internally before any judicial involvement arises.
“Under this legislation, an employer, or a person in charge of an institution, has a duty to keep and maintain a register,” she said.
The register will detail all information relative to a sexual harassment complaint to include: (a) the name of the parties to the sexual harassment claim; (b) the particulars of the sexual harassment claim; (c) the date on which the sexual harassment claim was lodged; (d) any action taken by the employer or person in charge of an institution about the sexual harassment claim; (e) such other particulars relating to the sexual harassment claim as may be prescribed.
Grange said the start of the debate on the legislation would be postponed to next Tuesday when the House meets again due to several critical matters which were being addressed this week.

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