ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN CREATING AWARENESS ON THE PROTECTION AGAINST HARASSMENT OF WOMEN AT WORKPLACE ACT 2010

Abstract

Women are the soul of every nation. The paradigm of globalization has resulted in their increased participation in the workforce. The cases of women harassment in the workplace are being reported on daily basis not only in Pakistan but also across the globe. Pakistan with a 48.5 percent (around 100 million) women population has been ranked as the third most dangerous country for women to live in. Realizing the situation, the Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace Act 2010 was promulgated. However, there was a serious issue of awareness. Social media has become a powerful tool for spreading information, but the increasing cases of women harassment in Pakistan is a question mark on the role of all social media platforms in creating awareness of the Act even after a lapse of 14 years. This study aims to measure the role of social media i.e., Facebook and Twitter in creating awareness about the Act in working women in public and private sectors. This study is quantitative. A survey questionnaire tool has been used to obtain data from Lahore (n=350). The Social Learning Theory (Albert Bandura, 1977) of media has been employed to conduct this study. The study results reveal that women working in the private sector are well aware of the PAHWW Act 2010 through Facebook, while, women working in the private sector are also well informed about the Act through Twitter. The study recommends further awareness campaigns about the Act and that the term harassment should be defined properly and clearly as in the USA and other European countries.