US embassy cable - 04HARARE1535

UNCLAS HARARE 001535 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AF/PD FOR CDALTON, IIP /G AF FOR EYORK 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OIIP, KPAO, ZI 
SUBJECT: HIGHLIGHTS / RESULTS REPORT:  PAS HARARE SPONSORS 
ZIMBABWE'S FIRST EVER NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SEXUAL 
HARASSMENT 
 
 
1.  Description of Activity: 
     From August 26-September 2, 2004, Dr. Linda Greene, 
former Vice Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin- 
Madison interacted with a variety of stakeholders regarding 
Sexual Harassment Laws and Policies in Zimbabwe.  In 
addition to delivering the keynote address at Zimbabwe's 
first ever National Conference on Sexual Harassment, 
sponsored by a grant from PAS, Dr. Greene traveled 
throughout Zimbabwe addressing audiences about various 
aspects of sexual harassment policies and laws. 
 
2. Date: August 25-September 2, 2004 
 
3. MPP Themes and Audience: 
  Theme: Democracy and Human Rights 
  Audience: Through this event, PAS Harare reached diverse 
audiences ranging from local deans of students, proctors, 
wardens, professors, student leaders from the country's 
major institutions of higher learning, lawyers from the law 
society, justices from the Labor and Supreme Courts of 
Zimbabwe, representatives from the local NGO community and a 
member of parliament. 
 
4. Justification and Objectives: 
 
In order to support civil society, strengthen the economy, 
and reduce the brain drain, the full participation of all 
Zimbabweans in the life of the community, including women, 
is essential.  Many Zimbabweans do not have a clear 
understanding of the legal definition of sexual harassment 
or approaches to addressing the problem.  Increasing 
awareness of sexual harassment is essential to developing 
and implementing effective sexual harassment policies. 
 
During both the weekend sexual harassment conference and the 
follow up programs, it was very clear that most of the local 
universities did not have specific sexual harassment 
policies in place for both students and staff members. In 
some instances, institutions used codes of conduct from the 
country's sexual offences and the labor acts, which were 
ambiguous and obscure in their definitions of sexual 
harassment. In most cases students were apparently not 
forthcoming regarding reporting sexual harassment for fear 
of victimization.  Nonetheless, sexual harassment problems 
involving lecturers and students were said to be prevalent 
in some universities, yet universities lacked support 
systems for sexual harassment. 
 
5. Results/Impact: 
 
Dr. Greene met with a total of 150 selected participants, 
including the leaders of 7 universities, members of 
parliament, labor and supreme court justices, NGO's, and 
other major stakeholders.  Two of Zimbabwe's major 
universities drafted Sexual Harassment policies as a result 
of Dr. Greene's visit.  Several other universities pledged 
to make existing policies more transparent and accessible to 
students.  The event provided an opportunity to further the 
MPP goal of Democracy and Human Rights by encouraging the 
full participation of women in civil society. 
 
6.   Quality of USG Support: Excellent. We commend, once 
again, the excellent support from IIP's Eboni York and Inga 
McMichael. 
 
 
DELL