KINGSTON, Jamaica— A submission from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is urging the Joint Select Committee (JSC) reviewing the Sexual Harassment Bill, to expand the range of institutions to be covered by the Act to include churches and children’s homes.

The submission suggested that the Bill includes churches and faith-based organisations (FBOs) and their places of worship and programme facilities, as well as “children’s homes”, which are not included in the current Bill.

“We suggest that the inclusion of the faith community in the types of institutions covered by this law, sends the highest signal of Parliament’s intent to ensure a harassment free society and will assist churches and other groups to strengthen their internal protective policies,” the UNDP said.

 The submission noted that while the Bill covers ‘places of safety’ as defined by the Child Care and Protection Act (CCPA), it does not include ‘children’s homes’, “which are the other types of residential facility named under the CCPA”.

The submission drew the committee’s attention to the fact that most wards of the state are housed in children’s homes and not places of safety and, that children’s homes are more likely to be privately run institutions, while many places of safety are still directly managed by the government.

“For this reason, we suggest that children’s homes be explicitly included under the definition and scope of institutions covered by the Bill,” UNDP submitted, noting as well that the requirement for consent in relation to child sexual harassment victims should also be removed from the bill.

The UNDP said that the committee should take into consideration, as well, sports programmes, clubs or teams and their facilities, noting that the vulnerability of athletes to unwanted sexual advances has been documented in both local and international circles.

“Coaches hold a uniquely significant position of trust, power and influence, particularly in the lives of children and young people, and should be held to high standards in protecting those in their care. By naming this group in the Act, the law will draw attention to the importance of this duty to protect both child and adult athletes,” the submission said.

The body also called on the JSC to define the work environment, by revisiting and ultimately incorporating a definition for the work environment, to ensure that the policy applies to and explicitly covers informal work environment and casual labour.

The committee was having its first meeting at Gordon House yesterday, following Parliament’s Christmas break which ended earlier this month.

Chaired by the Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sports, Olivia Grange, the committee yesterday dealt mainly with issues involving expanding the range of individuals to be protected and defining the work environment, as it continues its efforts to meet its deadline to hand in a report before the end of the 2020//21 parliamentary year next month.

However, with the deadline looking less likely, the minister suggested yesterday that they may need a weekend retreat to ensure that the task is completed by the start of 2021/22.

“We were hoping we could have completed it and have it ready by the end of this (parliamentary) year, but we are still going to work towards that so we can have it tabled as early as possible in the new fiscal year,” she said.