Woman accuses her immediate supervisor of sexual harassment

Sep 14, 2021

A 22-year-old woman working in one of the project organisations in Thimphu is accusing her immediate supervisor of sexual harassment. She filed the case against the suspect with Thimphu Police last week.

According to her, the suspect asked her for sexual favour last Tuesday when her office mates were not in the office. The suspect supposedly threatened to terminate her if his demand was not met. She said the suspect closed the curtains and touched her body.

She is a contract employee and her term ends in March next year.

She accused the suspect of molesting her since she joined the office last year. She also told BBS that she submitted evidence including voice recordings and personal chats to the police.

However, the suspect denied the charges and says he is equally stressed out by these allegations. And the police said since the case is still under investigation, they have no comments.

The Penal Code of Bhutan defines a person to be guilty of sexual harassment under Section 205, “if the defendant makes unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal abuse of sexual nature.” It is graded as a petty misdemeanour with a prison term of one month to less than a year.

Pema Seldon Tshering/Samten Dolkar

Edited by Sonam