On December 28, 2022, the presentation of the analytical report "Sexual harassment in Azerbaijan: legislation and its application practice" was held at the Central Scientific Library under the joint organization of the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs (SCFWCA) and the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences.

Irada Huseynova, the vice-president of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, emphasized that Azerbaijan is recognized as the first country in the Muslim and Eastern world that gives women the right to vote and be elected. She said that the protection of women's rights and their proper representation in a society formed the main direction of the political course of Great Leader Heydar Aliyev. Noting that today, like every field, this issue is always kept in mind by the President of the country Mr. Ilham Aliyev, I. Huseynova added that many legislative acts have been adopted to ensure that women have equal rights and opportunities in the country, and mechanisms for the functioning of these laws have been created.

She also noted that the right to privacy is established as a separate provision in the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan and other legislative acts. Stating that the initiative of the State Committee regarding the currently discussed sexual harassment problem is commendable, the ANAS official noted the important role of public condemnation mechanisms, social networks, and educational measures in solving this issue.

Bahar Muradova, the Chair of the SCFWCA, said that the purpose of organizing the discussion is to encourage the writing of scientific works and scientific articles on relevant topics, using the research and analyzes conducted so far as a key.

She said that Azerbaijan's state building, its development and equal participation of Azerbaijani citizens in all processes, regardless of their gender, is a priority direction. In the life of the country, in the public sphere, as well as in the preservation of national and moral values and economic development, there are opportunities to participate and equally benefit from the results.

Pointing out that the report on the state of implementation of the Law "On Guarantees of Gender Equality" for 2021 was presented in the Milli Majlis, B. Muradova said that this issue becomes more systematic every year, the work done, the current situation is systematically analyzed, and at the same time difficulties and problems are identified as a result of such approaches.

She said that the topic of sexual harassment is quite relevant in Azerbaijan, that despite the provision of certain issues in the legislation, problems still remain, and there are punishments that are not implemented in practice. B. Muradova acknowledged the problems and stressed the importance of finding ways out in order to prevent these situations from happening.

Sahib Mammadov, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Citizens' Labor Rights Protection League, Chairman of the Public Council under the Committee, made a presentation on "Sexual harassment in Azerbaijan: Legislation and its application practice". He informed about the scope and results of the research and drew attention to the recommendations regarding the elimination of the problems encountered in the prevention of sexual harassment. S. Mammadov said that in many countries there is no legislation aimed at preventing sexual harassment, as well as regarding gender discrimination. Although provisions aimed at preventing sexual harassment are included in the legislation, enforcement mechanisms in practice are not perfect.

Members of the Public Council, as well as intellectuals and scientists, who participated in the event, expressed their opinions on the topic and noted the importance of strengthening awareness and public condemnation in preventing cases of sexual harassment.