Guidelines for Drafting Sexual Harassment Laws

There are a number of online resources that provide guidance on drafting gender equality legislation, and sexual harassment legislation in particular.

In January 2003, the United Nations Development Program published Drafting Gender Aware Legislation: How to promote and protect gender equality in Eastern Europe and in the Commonwealth of Independent States (password required), a handbook for legislators and women's advocates in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the former Soviet Union (FSU) region (description of 2005 version). This publication provides information concerning 

• gender-aware legislation trends in the CEE/FSU region, including efforts to establish gender equality institutions or agencies;
• the legislation cycle and points in this cycle at which non-governmental organizations, researchers and staff of national gender equality institutions can participate; 
• checklists for reviewing existing legislation that affects women, including criminal, anti-discrimination and labor legislation prohibiting sexual harassment, and the enforcement of this legislation; 
• a compendium of international standards in the area of gender equality.

The Caribbean Community has published Model Legislation on Sexual Harassment the drafting of which was funded by the Canadian International Development Agency.

The International Labor Organization has published a report on Substantive Provisions of Labour Legislation entitled "The Elimination of Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation". This report advises national governments, when drafting legislation that protects against sexual harassment, to ensure that the legislation covers both quid pro quo sexual harassment and sexual harassment that creates a hostile working environment.

Several surveys of national laws and policies in the area of gender equality or violence against women provide information concerning the approaches taken by national governments to prevent and proscribe sexual harassment.

• In November 2003, the Council of Europe (COE) conducted a survey of legislation in COE Member States in the field of violence against women. Volume I of this survey covers Albania through Luxembourg. Volume II of the survey covers Malta through the United Kingdom, and includes a discussion of best practices in the area of sexual harassment. 
• The report Women 2000: An Investigation into the Status of Women's Rights in the former Soviet Union and Central and South-Eastern Europe, published by the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights in November 2000, includes information about a range of women's rights issues for thirty countries in the CEE and FSU region, and information on legal provisions on sexual harassment, where available. Sections of this report are available online by country. To retrieve the section that addresses women's rights in a particular country, highlight the name of that country in the "Countries" pull-down menu, highlight "Women's Rights" in the "Topics" pull-down menu, and enter "2000" in the field for date of publication. 
• Sexual harassment legislative initiatives around the world are described in the 2003 Report of the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Integration of the Human Rights of Women and the Gender Perspective:Violence Against Women, E/CN.4/2003/75(Jan. 2003)(PDF and Word, 24 pages); and Addendum 1 to the 2003 Report of the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women: International, Regional and National Developments in the Area of Violence Against Women 1994-2003 (E/CN.4/2003/75)(February 2003) (PDF and Word, 397 pages).
• The International Labor Organization in 2005 published a comprehensive report on national and international responses to workplace sexual harassment, including a survey of national laws, governmental and non-governmental initiatives and workplace policies and procedures. International Labor Organization, Sexual harassment at work: National and international responses (2005).

You can find more information concerning national approaches to sexual harassment law in the Sexual Harassment: List of Law and Policy Documents section of this website.