ISLAMABAD: Federal Ombudsman Secretariat for Protection Against Harassment (FOSPAH) conducted an awareness program and training session at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on Thursday.
PIMS Executive Director Dr Amjad Mehmood, FM&DC Islamabad principal, College of Nursing principal, College of Medical Technology principal, PIMS chief nursing superintendent, senior and junior doctors, paramedics, specialists and all heads of departments attended the event.
Federal Ombudsman Kashmala Tariq along with her team apprised the audience about the nature and significance of her work. She also shared her vision of creating a harassment-free environment at workplaces and providing an enabling environment to realise one’s potential without intimidation and discrimination of any sort. She also stated that FOSPAH is equipped with a swift and simple procedure to register a complaint which does not require any lawyer and takes only two months to decide the case. Moreover, it is not only sexual harassment, but any demeaning attitude also lies under the definition of harassment. In case of any misconduct, the workforce was told to share it with colleagues to create a witness which can later be used as evidence.
Furthermore, Mehnoor Ahmed gave a brief presentation about FOSPAH and elaborated about the FOSPAH’s online systems which include Online Complaint System, availability of information through social media and official website and hearing of the registered cases through video conference. Legal advisor Owais Awan also shared some case studies related to workplace harassment. It was a well-attended event by the doctors, nurses, specialists, paramedics and the doctors currently on house job. They appreciated FOSPAH’s effort and assured to continue these training sessions on a quarterly basis. The seminar concluded with Q&A session. FOSPAH and PIMS have devised a joint strategy to work hand in hand in spreading awareness about the workplace harassment.
