Published 27th October 2020
Buckie Got It,
Basseterre St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
Combatting harassment in the parliamentary environment: Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) releases its Anti-Harassment Policy Guidelines for Commonwealth Parliaments
The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) network has launched its new Anti-Harassment Policy Guidelines to support Parliaments across the Commonwealth in the effort to both address and remove all traces of harassment across parliamentary workplaces. The CWP is a network of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) and these guidelines will be distributed to the CPA’s membership of around 180 Commonwealth Parliaments and Legislatures.
The Anti-Harassment Policy Guidelines define harassment as “unwanted behaviour directed at an individual with the purpose or intent of humiliating, disrespecting, intimidation, hurting or offending them.” They have been designed to support all Parliaments regardless of their experiences to endorse and uphold a zero-tolerance approach to harassment, which could include, but is not limited to, a wide range of unwanted sexual, discriminatory, physical and psychological behaviours or actions.
Drawing from a wide range of anti-harassment policies and procedures from Parliaments in the Commonwealth, these guidelines provide a detailed step-by-step approach that offers insights and case studies on what appropriate methods should be included when developing or updating their respective anti-harassment policies.
The CWP Chairperson, Hon. Shandana Gulzar Khan, MNA (Pakistan) said that “At the 6th Triennial CWP Conference, held in the margins of the 64th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Uganda in 2019, the issue of bullying and harassment in the workplace was highlighted as an important issue which needed to be tackled across the Commonwealth and beyond. The devastating consequences of this unacceptable behaviour are far-reaching and as both a visible and representative institution, all Parliaments must show leadership and set an exemplary standard for all by taking a proactive role in having such policies in place.” The CWP Chairperson also said that “both the CPA and the CWP network will continue to work with all 180 Parliaments and Legislatures represented in the CPA’s membership to combat harassment in all its form.”
Click here to download a copy of the ‘CWP Anti-Harassment Policy Guidelines: A Toolkit for Commonwealth Parliaments’ or please visit www.cpahq.org/cpahq/cwpresources.
A copy of the guidelines is also attached to this email.
*Please note: This toolkit is published by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association for the benefit of its membership and for the wider international community. This information is intended to supplement the current global pandemic advice and information from a wide range of international organisations. This toolkit does not supersede existing national guidance and plans. Rather, this toolkit should be used to augment existing relevant national plans and focus the support of the international community.
Please click here or visit www.cpahq.org/cpahq/cwp for more information about the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) network.
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The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) is the network of women Members of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s Parliaments and Legislatures and the network is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2019. The CWP network provides a means of building the capacity of women elected to Parliament to be more effective in their roles, improving the awareness and ability of all Parliamentarians, male and female, and encouraging them to include a gender perspective in all aspects of their role – legislation, oversight and representation – and helping Parliaments to become gender-sensitive institutions. The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) was founded in 1989 to increase the number of female elected representatives in Parliaments and legislatures across the Commonwealth and to ensure that women’s issues are brought to the fore in parliamentary debate and legislation. www.cpahq.org/cpahq/cwp
The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), now in its 109th year, exists to develop, promote and support Parliamentarians and their staff to identify benchmarks of good governance and to implement the enduring values of the Commonwealth. The CPA is an international community of over 180 Commonwealth Parliaments and Legislatures working together to deepen the Commonwealth’s commitment to the highest standards of democratic governance. The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Executive Committee is the principal governing body of the Association and includes Commonwealth Speakers and Members of Parliament. Visit the CPA Headquarters Secretariat website at www.cpahq.org.
