ISLAMABAD: In what appears to be a quiet but significant shift in how workplace grievances are being reported across the country, a growing number of male employees have started approaching the Federal Ombudsman Secretariat for Protection Against Harassment (FOSPAH) to lodge complaints against harassment at their workplaces.
Official data obtained from FOSPAH shows that men now make up nearly 40 percent of all harassment complaints filed with the secretariat over the past year — a trend that officials and observers say reflects changing attitudes towards workplace rights and a greater willingness among men to use available legal channels.
As per the record, a total of 1,290 complaints were registered with the ombudsman secretariat during the year, out of which 521 were filed by men and 769 by women. Officials at FOSPAH said the secretariat managed to dispose of 1,104 of these cases, a disposal rate that many termed satisfactory given the volume of complaints received.
Region-wise details
A breakdown of the data shows that the FOSPAH Head Office in Islamabad received the bulk of complaints from both men and women, with Punjab coming in second.
Among the complaints filed by men, Islamabad and Punjab together accounted for the largest share, while Peshawar recorded 42 complaints, Karachi 24, and Balochistan only 2.
As for complaints lodged by women, Islamabad alone accounted for 496 cases, followed by Punjab with 154.
Legal experts and labour rights activists, when contacted, said that workplace harassment has traditionally been discussed mainly in the context of women’s safety, but the increasing number of complaints being filed by men suggests that the issue cuts across gender lines. They added that this trend also points towards growing institutional confidence in FOSPAH as an effective forum for redressal, rather than any dramatic change in workplace conditions themselves.
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Officials at the secretariat, meanwhile, maintained that the rising numbers — from both men and women — should be seen as a positive sign, indicating that more employees are now aware of their rights and are no longer hesitant to report harassment, regardless of their gender.
