50 Cases Referred to Sexual Harassment Tribunal to Date

A total of 50 cases of sexual harassment complaints has, so far, been referred to the Sexual Harassment Tribunal.

Principal Director of the Bureau of Gender Affairs (BGA), Sharon Coburn Robinson, made the disclosure during a recent presentation to the Caucus of Women Parliamentarians at Gordon House.

“Of the cases that we’ve had so far, most of them have come from within the public sector and some are from the private sector. The information I saw is that… over 60 per cent of the cases… have been dealt with, and some are still being addressed,” she informed.

The Tribunal was established under the Sexual Harassment (Protection and Prevention) Act to hear and determine complaints and to make awards.

Mrs. Coburn Robinson said that not all sexual harassment cases are heard by the Tribunal, as some are dealt with at the divisional level by Human Resources (HR).

Outlining the process, she explained that the legislation provides that once a complaint has been made, the HR practitioner has a responsibility to inform the person to whom the case has been brought, or complaint has been registered, within 48 hours.

Following the notification, the HR practitioner or whoever has focal point responsibility must call the parties together for a hearing or conversation and where possible to have some resolution done at that level.

Mrs. Coburn Robinson explained that the legislation requires that all remedies or procedures that are existing at the local level be exhausted, before it be brought to the tribunal.

“But in the event that there is no HR or there might be other matters in terms of the person feeling as if it’s taking too long or there is something that causes the person who is the complainant to feel as if it’s not going to be in his or her favour, then that person can bring the case straight to the tribunal,” she pointed out.

She noted that tribunal meetings are held as often as possible. “The idea is that all of the cases are going to be treated with the utmost priority because there is a zero-tolerance approach to any form of harassment that is done to any person,” Mrs. Coburn Robinson said.

“Once somebody complains of harassment, then the tribunal has a responsibility to ensure that it is treated with in a swift manner, and as swift as possible,” she stressed.

Members of the Sexual Harassment Tribunal were sworn in on July 17, 2025.