Attitudes and Perceptions of Medical Students Regarding Work Place Harassment Act: An Interpretive Paradigm

Background: Harassment at workplace is a worldwide phenomenon and remains a major threat to the work performance of the workers. In this regard, Government of Pakistan introduced "The Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act 2010". Objective: This study explores the attitudes and perceptions of medical students about the effectiveness of this act within the university environment. Methodology: The study is qualitative in nature and follows interpretive paradigm. In-depth interviews were conducted with twenty male and female students from two universities (one from private sector and one from government sector). Thematic analysis was carried out to analyze data. Results: The results reflected that the majority of students were unaware of the legislation. It is found that the universities have generally failed to play a constructive role in raising awareness among the students about this harassment act. Conclusion: Harassment committees were found to be ineffective. It is recommended that universities should not only increase awareness among the students through various steps but also implement this harassment act 2010 in letter and spirit to make it more effective.