KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia “Babsy” Grange is to chair a joint select committee (JSC) of Parliament, which is to review the provisions of the recently tabled Sexual Harassment Bill.

Grange announced the members of the JSC from the House of Representatives during yesterday’s second reading of the Bill at Gordon House.

The other MPs are Delroy Chuck, Minister of Justice, Alanzo Terrelonge, Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Marisa Dalrymple-Phillibert, Ann Marie Vaz and Franklyn Witter from the Government benches; and Natalie Neita, Angela Brown Burke and Horace Dalley from the Opposition.

The Bill, formally entitled ‘An Act to make provision for the prevention of sexual harassment and for connected matters’ is intended “to protect women and men whose quality of life is affected by intimidating, hostile, or offensive environments caused by unwanted sexual advances, requests for sexual favours and crude sexual behaviours”.

The Bill includes proposals for dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace, schools, correctional institutions, places of safety, nursing homes, medical and psychiatric facilities, among other places.

Grange said the Bill proposes to “ensure an environment free of sexual harassment, as well as mechanisms to deal with the very serious crime”.