Exploring the harassment against working women:

Abstract

Women working in Free Trade Zones continue to face violence and harassment in and outside the workplace without adequate recourse and redressal mechanisms. Sri Lanka‘s total labor force participation is 49.8%. Females' contribution to the labor force is only 32.1%. The Free Trade Zone’s women employees face harassment in the world of work, thus applying to harassment in the course of work, which is linked with or arises out of work. “Accordingly, the research problem of this study is: What forms of harassment are faced by working women in the workplace?”. To study the research problem, women employees in the Katunayake FTZ were considered the target population; 50 women employees were selected from a population of 200. The sample was chosen by using purposive sampling. This study employs a mixed-methods research approach. The finding reveals that 60% of women were reported as Manpower workers. Katunayake factories consist of women workers, especially in the age group of 18-28 years. They do not have permanent residency in Katunayake. Relatively high rates of secondary education among them notwithstanding, these women have been committed to low-paid and insecure jobs without specialization. 38% of working women are victims of psychological abuse. 52% of employees have expressed dissatisfaction regarding health, safety, and hygiene. To reduce this situation, it is essential to formalize the protection of women under labor laws and enhance their welfare and safety at the institutional level.