The High Court Division’s guidelines in Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association v Government of Bangladesh continue to provide the general institutional framework against sexual harassment at workplaces and educational institutions unless replaced or supplemented by legislation.
The legal framework became materially stronger in 2026. The amended Bangladesh Labour Act now expressly addresses gender-based violence and harassment in covered workplaces, while section 25 of the Cyber Protection Act, 2026 criminalises specified digital sexual harassment, blackmail and related publication.
Constitutional foundation
The sexual-harassment guidelines are grounded in constitutional equality, non-discrimination, dignity, lawful treatment and personal liberty under Articles 27, 28, 29, 31 and 32.
The High Court also considered Bangladesh’s obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
Institutional failure to prevent or address harassment can deny meaningful equality even where no formal rule excludes women.
The 2009 High Court guidelines
In Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association v Government of Bangladesh, Writ Petition No. 5916 of 2008, decided on 14 May 2009, the High Court Division issued guidelines applicable to public and private workplaces and educational institutions.
The Court directed that the guidelines be treated as binding law under Article 111 until adequate legislation is enacted. The official judgment records the need for prevention, complaint mechanisms, confidentiality and disciplinary action.
This review did not identify, as of 13 July 2026, a single comprehensive standalone general Sexual Harassment Prevention Act replacing the guidelines across every workplace and educational institution. The guidelines therefore remain important, while newer sector-specific statutes supplement them.
What behaviour is covered?
The High Court guidelines address unwelcome sexually determined conduct. The categories include physical contact and advances, attempts to establish a sexual relationship through abuse of authority, demands or requests for sexual favours, sexually coloured remarks, showing pornography and other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal sexual conduct.
The focus is on whether the conduct is unwelcome and sexual in nature, not whether the perpetrator calls it a joke or compliment.
Harassment may also include retaliation against a person who rejects an advance or makes a complaint.
Complaint committees
The guidelines require workplaces and educational institutions to establish complaint committees.
The committee should have at least five members, with a majority of women. It should be headed by a woman where available, and at least two members should come from outside the institution, preferably from organisations with expertise in gender or sexual-abuse issues.
An institution should not wait for a complaint before forming the committee. A committee created after an allegation, consisting only of direct subordinates of the accused, may not satisfy the independence expected by the guidelines.
How may a complaint be made?
The guidelines permit a complaint by the affected person and contemplate assistance by relatives, friends or a lawyer. Complaints may be submitted through the recognised institutional channel, including written communication.
The complaint should ordinarily be made within thirty working days, although the committee should examine the full guideline concerning reasonable circumstances before rejecting a delayed complaint.
The complainant should provide:
- A chronological account
- Dates, places and persons present
- Messages, emails or recordings
- Names of witnesses
- Evidence of retaliation
- Earlier reports to supervisors
- Employment or student records
- The remedy or protection requested
The complaint need not contain legal terminology. It should describe the conduct accurately.
Inquiry procedure
The committee should preserve confidentiality and conduct the inquiry privately. Both the complainant and the respondent must receive procedural fairness.
The respondent should know the substance of the allegation and have an opportunity to answer. The complainant should not be subjected to humiliating questioning about unrelated private conduct.
The guidelines contemplate a prompt inquiry and report, ordinarily within thirty working days, subject to the full terms of the judgment.
The committee may recommend disciplinary action under the institution’s applicable service, employment or student rules. It should refer conduct appearing criminal to the appropriate authority rather than attempting to decide criminal guilt itself.
Interim protection
An employer or institution may need to take interim measures to prevent retaliation or continued contact.
Possible measures include changing reporting lines, preserving electronic records, temporarily separating the parties or adjusting schedules. An interim measure should not unnecessarily punish the complainant by forcing her to leave work or education.
The respondent’s procedural rights must also be respected. Interim separation is not a final finding.
The 2026 Labour Act amendments
The Bangladesh Labour (Amendment) Act, 2026 inserted and expanded statutory definitions and obligations concerning gender-based violence and harassment in the world of work.
The amended Labour Act includes concepts such as gender-based violence and harassment and quid pro quo harassment. Section 332 now requires covered establishments to take preventive and responsive measures, including effective steps for filing cases under existing law where sexual harassment occurs.
This is an important development, but the Labour Act does not cover every person or institution in exactly the same manner. Whether a complainant is a “worker” and whether the establishment falls under the Act must be checked.
The High Court guidelines remain especially important for educational institutions, public offices and persons outside the Labour Act’s coverage.
Digital sexual harassment under the Cyber Protection Act
Section 25 of the Cyber Protection Act, 2026 creates offences concerning specified sexual harassment, blackmail and publication of obscene or related material through websites or other digital or electronic media.
The Act contains statutory definitions of sexual harassment in cyber space.
Examples may include threats to publish intimate material, coercive demands, non-consensual distribution and other conduct satisfying the exact statutory elements.
A workplace complaint and a cybercrime complaint are separate processes. The employer investigates disciplinary responsibility, while police and the criminal court address the statutory offence.
Other criminal provisions
Depending on the facts, sections 354 and 509 of the Penal Code may also be relevant. Section 354 concerns assault or criminal force to a woman with the specified intent or knowledge. Section 509 concerns words, gestures, acts or intrusion upon privacy with the specified intention.
These sections should not be cited automatically for every offensive remark. The prosecution must establish each statutory element.
More serious physical or sexual conduct may engage other criminal statutes.
Harassment involving remote work or an institution in Bangladesh
A non-resident employee or student may still use an institutional complaint mechanism where the employer, university, accused person or relevant conduct is connected to Bangladesh.
Electronic evidence should be preserved in its complete form. Keep the original device where possible, export full conversations, retain email headers and record dates and account identifiers.
A screenshot alone may omit context or sender information.
Where the conduct occurred entirely abroad, the law of the foreign country may provide the primary workplace or criminal remedy. The territorial provisions of the Cyber Protection Act and other Bangladeshi laws must be examined before asserting Bangladeshi jurisdiction.
Retaliation and confidentiality
A complainant should record any dismissal, demotion, academic penalty, threat, exclusion or hostile communication following the complaint.
Confidentiality protects the inquiry and parties. It should not be used to silence the complainant from obtaining legal, medical or counselling assistance.
Institutions should restrict information to persons who genuinely need it for the inquiry and protection process.
Common mistakes
Common mistakes include reporting only verbally, allowing the institution to delay formation of a committee and treating the internal process as a substitute for police action where a crime may have occurred.
Another mistake is publicly posting all evidence before preserving it securely. Public disclosure may affect privacy, defamation and the integrity of the inquiry.
See also the related Ain.bd articles Online Harassment, Blackmail and Non-Consensual Content: Legal Remedies and Cyber Protection Act 2026 Explained.
Law updated as of 13 July 2026.
Primary sources: Constitution of Bangladesh, Articles 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 111 and 102; Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association v Government of Bangladesh, Writ Petition No. 5916 of 2008, judgment dated 14 May 2009, reported at 14 BLC (HCD) 694; Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006 as amended by Act No. 43 of 2026; Cyber Protection Act, 2026, sections 2 and 25; Penal Code, 1860, sections 354 and 509; Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
Legal-information disclaimer: This article provides general legal information, not legal advice. Sexual-harassment complaints may involve employment law, institutional discipline, cybercrime, criminal evidence and personal safety. Consult a licensed advocate about the appropriate parallel remedies.