Safety and Health at Work: A Study of Cases of Sexual Harassment at the Workplace in Kosovo in the Public and Private Sector

The research "Safety and Health at Work: A study of cases of sexual harassment at the workplace in Kosovo in the public and private sector" was carried out by IDRA Consulting, while the demand to provide such data derived from the Institution of Ombudsperson in Kosovo.

This field research aimed to collect the opinions and perceptions of employed women regarding their general safety in the workplace, exposure to sexual harassment of women and the impact of sexual harassment on physical and mental well-being.

Ombdsperson, Naim Qelaj fully supported the prevention cause by vowing that the institution he leads will extend its efforts to address and give voice to the phenomenon. Furthermore, he said that this report will raise concerns at the right address to achieve a solution and oblige relevant institutions to treat these cases.

Meanwhile, Vlora Tuzi Nushi, head of UN Women office for Kosovo, said that the phenomenon affects both women and men in the workplace, however global statistics show that women are more exposed.

"Sexual harassment can happen to anyone, regardless of whether it is a man or a woman. According to a global ILO survey, one in 15 people globally had experienced sexual harassment in the workplace. However, despite the fact that the phenomenon affects both sexes, statistically women experience sexual harassment at work more than men".

On the other hand, Arnhild Spence, the United Nations Development Coordinator in Kosovo, said that 'Everyone has the right to a workplace free form sexual harassment. Let us have zero tolerance for violence and harassment at work – or anywhere!'.

The survey carried out with 500 women respondents from different professional sectors in the public and private sector conducted in the 7 largest regions in Kosovo (Prishtina, Prizren, Mitrovica, Ferizaj/Uroševac, Pejë/ć, Gjakovë/Đakovica, Gjilan/Gnjilane) highlighted that at a general level 72% of the sample was familiar with the term sexual harassment in the workplace and 24% stated that they were not aware of it.

On the other hand, when asked if they experienced sexual harassment, only 9% of women declared that they were sexually harassed, while 84% of respondents said that they themselves or someone they know was not sexually harassed, 5% of them did not know, meanwhile 2 % refused to answer.

However, it should be noted that due to the sensitivity of the subject, these data do not represent reality.

Meanwhile, regarding the form of sexual harassment that they have witnessed mostly happening in the workplace, comments of a sexual nature are listed with (25%), electronic or physical stalking (20%), sexual coercion or quid pro quo - something in exchange for something (19*).

This study was conducted under the framework of the labour rights campaign “A decent job for a dignified life”, under the leadership of Ministry of Finance, Labour and Transfers with support of Embassy of Sweden in Prishtina. Implementing partners of the campaign are Labour Inspectorate, Tax Administration of Kosovo, International Labour Organization, UN Women, Community Development Fund, Kosovar Stability Initiative, Center for Policies and Avocation and LENS.