WORLD Policy Analysis Center

Does legislation explicitly prohibit discriminatory workplace harassment on the basis of sex characteristics?

The term “sex characteristics” includes terms such as “sex characteristics”, “sexual characteristics”, “intersex characteristics”, “intersex status”, or “person with intersex variations”.

Discriminatory harassment includes explicit legislative prohibitions against harassment at the workplace.

No prohibition means that legislation does not take an explicit approach to prohibiting discriminatory harassment on the basis of sex characteristics. This does not mean that legislation denies this guarantee.

General prohibition of harassment means that legislation prohibits discriminatory harassment generally— for example, by prohibiting discrimination based on “any status” or stating no worker may be discriminated against. This general prohibition is not specifically extended on the basis of sex characteristics.

Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination on the basis of sex characteristics broadly protects individuals from workplace discrimination on the basis of sex characteristics, but does not explicitly address workplace harassment. These broad prohibitions use language that could extend prohibition of discrimination across any aspect of work.

Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition means that legislation either extends: a) an explicit prohibition of discriminatory harassment on the basis of sex characteristics, or b) extends a broad prohibition of workplace discrimination on the basis of sex characteristics alongside a general prohibition of discriminatory harassment to all workers.

Countries

Afghanistan - No prohibition

Antigua and Barbuda - No prohibition

Armenia - No prohibition

Angola - No prohibition

Austria - No prohibition

Azerbaijan - No prohibition

Barbados - No prohibition

Bangladesh - No prohibition

Burkina Faso - No prohibition

Bulgaria - No prohibition

Bahrain - No prohibition

Benin - No prohibition

Brunei - No prohibition

Brazil - No prohibition

Bahamas - No prohibition

Bhutan - No prohibition

Botswana - No prohibition

Belarus - No prohibition

Belize - No prohibition

Canada - No prohibition

Central African Republic - No prohibition

Republic of the Congo - No prohibition

Switzerland - No prohibition

Cameroon - No prohibition

China - No prohibition

Costa Rica - No prohibition

Cyprus - No prohibition

Czech Republic - No prohibition

Germany - No prohibition

Dominica - No prohibition

Dominican Republic - No prohibition

Estonia - No prohibition

Egypt - No prohibition

Eritrea - No prohibition

Ethiopia - No prohibition

Fiji - No prohibition

Micronesia, Federated States of - No prohibition

United Kingdom - No prohibition

Grenada - No prohibition

Ghana - No prohibition

Greenland - No prohibition

The Gambia - No prohibition

Guatemala - No prohibition

Guyana - No prohibition

Haiti - No prohibition

Indonesia - No prohibition

Ireland - No prohibition

Israel - No prohibition

Iran - No prohibition

Italy - No prohibition

Jamaica - No prohibition

Jordan - No prohibition

Japan - No prohibition

Kenya - No prohibition

Kyrgyzstan - No prohibition

Kiribati - No prohibition

St. Kitts and Nevis - No prohibition

Democratic People's Republic of Korea - No prohibition

Republic of Korea - No prohibition

Kuwait - No prohibition

Kazakhstan - No prohibition

Laos - No prohibition

Lebanon - No prohibition

St. Lucia - No prohibition

Liechtenstein - No prohibition

Sri Lanka - No prohibition

Liberia - No prohibition

Lesotho - No prohibition

Libya - No prohibition

Morocco - No prohibition

Madagascar - No prohibition

Marshall Islands - No prohibition

Mali - No prohibition

Myanmar - No prohibition

Mauritania - No prohibition

Maldives - No prohibition

Malawi - No prohibition

Malaysia - No prohibition

Namibia - No prohibition

Niger - No prohibition

Nigeria - No prohibition

Nicaragua - No prohibition

Nepal - No prohibition

Nauru - No prohibition

New Zealand - No prohibition

Oman - No prohibition

Papua New Guinea - No prohibition

The Philippines - No prohibition

Palau - No prohibition

Paraguay - No prohibition

Qatar - No prohibition

Russian Federation - No prohibition

Rwanda - No prohibition

Saudi Arabia - No prohibition

Solomon Islands - No prohibition

Sudan - No prohibition

Sweden - No prohibition

Senegal - No prohibition

Somalia - No prohibition

South Sudan - No prohibition

Sao Tome and Principe - No prohibition

Syria - No prohibition

Eswatini - No prohibition

Chad - No prohibition

Togo - No prohibition

Thailand - No prohibition

Turkmenistan - No prohibition

Tunisia - No prohibition

Tonga - No prohibition

Türkiye - No prohibition

Trinidad and Tobago - No prohibition

Tuvalu - No prohibition

Tanzania - No prohibition

Uganda - No prohibition

United States of America - No prohibition

Uruguay - No prohibition

Uzbekistan - No prohibition

St. Vincent and the Grenadines - No prohibition

Vanuatu - No prohibition

Yemen - No prohibition

Zambia - No prohibition

Andorra - General prohibition of harassment

United Arab Emirates - General prohibition of harassment

Argentina - General prohibition of harassment

Burundi - General prohibition of harassment

Bolivia - General prohibition of harassment

Democratic Republic of the Congo - General prohibition of harassment

Cote d'Ivoire - General prohibition of harassment

Chile - General prohibition of harassment

Colombia - General prohibition of harassment

Cuba - General prohibition of harassment

Cabo Verde - General prohibition of harassment

Djibouti - General prohibition of harassment

Algeria - General prohibition of harassment

Ecuador - General prohibition of harassment

Finland - General prohibition of harassment

France - General prohibition of harassment

Gabon - General prohibition of harassment

Georgia - General prohibition of harassment

Guinea - General prohibition of harassment

Equatorial Guinea - General prohibition of harassment

Guinea-Bissau - General prohibition of harassment

Honduras - General prohibition of harassment

Croatia - General prohibition of harassment

Hungary - General prohibition of harassment

Iraq - General prohibition of harassment

Cambodia - General prohibition of harassment

Comoros - General prohibition of harassment

Lithuania - General prohibition of harassment

Luxembourg - General prohibition of harassment

Latvia - General prohibition of harassment

Monaco - General prohibition of harassment

Moldova - General prohibition of harassment

North Macedonia - General prohibition of harassment

Mongolia - General prohibition of harassment

Malta - General prohibition of harassment

Mauritius - General prohibition of harassment

Mexico - General prohibition of harassment

Mozambique - General prohibition of harassment

Norway - General prohibition of harassment

Panama - General prohibition of harassment

Peru - General prohibition of harassment

Poland - General prohibition of harassment

Portugal - General prohibition of harassment

Romania - General prohibition of harassment

Seychelles - General prohibition of harassment

Singapore - General prohibition of harassment

Slovenia - General prohibition of harassment

Slovakia - General prohibition of harassment

Sierra Leone - General prohibition of harassment

San Marino - General prohibition of harassment

Suriname - General prohibition of harassment

El Salvador - General prohibition of harassment

Tajikistan - General prohibition of harassment

Timor-Leste - General prohibition of harassment

Ukraine - General prohibition of harassment

Venezuela - General prohibition of harassment

Vietnam - General prohibition of harassment

Samoa - General prohibition of harassment

South Africa - General prohibition of harassment

Zimbabwe - General prohibition of harassment

India - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on sex characteristics

Albania - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Australia - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Belgium - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Denmark - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Spain - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Greece - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Iceland - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Montenegro - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

The Netherlands - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Pakistan - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Serbia - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition