Committee on Prevention of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

This committee is established at NIMH, Mulleriyawa New Town with reference to the National Policy against Sexual Harassment in the work place developed by the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka.

Standard Operating Practices for the Committee

1. The functions of the committee shall be,

1.1. Promotion & Advocacy of Gender Equity within NIMH

1.2. Prevention of incidents in connection with sexual harassments by improving the knowledge among staff regarding the matter in collaboration with the Training Unit and the Gender Based Violence Prevention Unit of NIMH

1.3. To conduct the preliminary inquiry into complaints of sexual harassment and submitting reports along with relevant recommendations when requested by the Director of NIMH

2. The Committee shall consist of the following where both male and female representation is encouraged adequately. All such appointments shall be made by the Director of NIMH as per the following guidelines.

2.1. 2 representatives of the medical staff of one being a Consultant Psychiatrist

2.2. (Shall be nominated by the Director)

2.3. 2 representatives of nursing staff

2.4. (Shall be nominated by the Director with the concurrence of CSGNO)

2.5. 1 representative of the clerical staff

2.6. (Shall be nominated by the Director)

2.7. 1 representative of the paramedical and other staff

2.8. (Shall be nominated by the Director)

2.9. 2 representatives of the support staff

2.10. (Shall be nominated by the Director with the concurrence of the AO)

2.11. 1 independent nominee by the Director who is not a staff member of NIMH preferably from a legal background

3. The total number of the committee is 9 and the quorum shall be 5.

4. The committee shall be chaired by the Consultant Psychiatrist. A secretary shall be selected from amongst the major staff present in the committee by the Director.

5. The Committee shall be appointed for a period of one year and renewed annually under the guidance of the Director.

6. A Committee member can resign at any time after informing the Chairperson and the Director of

NIMH in writing.

7. If a post is vacated it should be immediately filled as per the above guidelines by the Director.

8. All decisions of the committee shall be by consensus. Vote based decisions are highly discouraged however in extraordinary situations decisions may be taken by 2/3 majority vote.

9. If a complaint with regard to sexual harassment is made against a member of the committee that committee member must withdraw from all committee activities until such time he/she is cleared of such a charge.

10. The Committee shall meet at least once a month to review progress and as and when necessary.

11. Complaint and inquiry Procedure

a. At all times complainants must be given the option of getting legal aid through the Police when a complaint is forwarded to the committee for review. If a police investigation is ongoing the committee will abstain from investigating such a complaint.

b. All written complaints must be made to the Director.

c. Such complaints must only be with regard to sexual harassment related to co-workers.

d. Complaints are required to be made within 1 month of the alleged event.

e. The names of the Committee members must be displayed on the notice board of NIMH so that all staff are aware of them.

f. Anonymous complaints will be rejected in total.

g. The inquiry process with regard to a complaint must be completed within 3 months of receiving a complaint.

h. The Director of NIMH shall ensure a safe and secure place for the meeting to be held without outside interference.

i. Evidence from the alleged victim and alleged perpetrator shall be reviewed with due diligence and in detail.

j. After giving due consideration to evidence the committee shall decide that the alleged perpetrator is guilty of the charge made, only if the alleged offence is proven without reasonable doubt.

k. Once such a decision is made it shall be communicated to the victim, perpetrator in writing.

l. After which the decision shall be forwarded to the Director, NIMH for disciplinary action.

m. A suitable penalty may be recommended to the Director by the Committee for consideration to a person found guilty of the offence.

n. Penalties may vary from verbal warning, written warning, internal transfer, transferring to another institution or interdiction depending on the severity of the offence.

o. If either party, i.e. alleged victim or alleged perpetrator is dissatisfied with the decision of the committee such party can appeal to the Director at which time the Director may at his/her discretion appoint a special three member committee to review the appeal.

p. In an extraordinary situation where the committee is dissatisfied with the decision taken by the

Director with regard to the recommendation made, the Committee may appeal to the Director

General of Health Services for a review of the decision.

q. If in case of a revenge alleged to have been taken on the complainant because of a sexual harassment complaint the Committee shall request the Director to take immediate disciplinary action in this regard after reviewing the incident.

r. If a valid Complaint is made against the Director of NIMH with regard to Sexual harassment the

Committee will abstain from deliberating on it and refer the matter to the Supervising Deputy

Director General of Health Services of NIMH for review.

12. Conduct of a Committee Member

a. All committee members must behave with the utmost confidentiality when dealing with a complaint made.

b. Matters pertaining to on-going investigations should not be discussed anywhere else except during committee meetings.

c. An Impartial and unemotional approach must be taken with regard to all complaints and personal bias must be avoided at all times.

d. When in doubt expert opinion can be taken with regard to any matter.