Addressing Sexual Harassment in the RMG Sector in Bangladesh: A Discussion of the Role of Stakeholders

Sexual harassment at work has been a critical issue in recent times. If the severity and consequences of the problem have not been the same, voluminous studies have documented the perseverance of the issue across various sectors around the world. This thesis particularly strives to focus on the readymade garments (RMG) industry in Bangladesh. It explores the recent development of state laws, resilience from different stakeholders, and overall fresh statistics with a view to outlining immediate future actions to address the issue of sexual harassment in the RMG sector in Bangladesh. While the thesis report acknowledges the development of state laws, combined and individual resistances from various stakeholders to some extent, it depicts the loopholes as the problem has been happening at an unthinkable rate. The thesis proposes that collective efforts should be taken to stop the crime: while the government might consider improving the design of the related laws, they might, more importantly, consider ensuring the implementation of the laws. The survivors' voices are reported to be suppressed by the perpetrators, even by the RMG facility authorities- survivors need assistance to be free to raise their voices. Designing and running a mandatory anti-harassment training program is identified as an immediate action. NGOs, INGOs, and feminist agencies might work to improve overall social attitudes and perceptions towards the issue; also, pushing the local manufacturers and foreign importers to show zero tolerance to the problem might prove a role of particular significance. Moreover, the thesis outlines future research directions.