Focus Areas > Prevention
of Sexual Harassment at Workplace
Sexual harassment is a manifestation of discrimination
and violence against women. Though one of the most common
forms of violation of a person's body and dignity, it is
least exposed. Studies in India have found that 40-80%
of women experience sexual harassment by their male colleagues
or superiors at work. Supreme Court of India recognized
sexual harassment as a human rights violation in 1997 with
the Vishakha Judgment. From this judgment, the Supreme
Court of India issued guidelines for the resolution and
prevention of sexual harassment. Advocates of women's rights
stress the need for a law on sexual harassment, which expands
of the currently limited coverage set forth in the Vishakha
Judgment.
In the decade since the Vishakha Judgment was delivered,
no efforts have been made towards enacting a law. The guidelines
of the Vishakha Judgement have been the only rule of law
required across the country, and their compliance has been
weak. Very few complaints committees have been set up and
service rules have never been amended. The judgment has
widely been disregarded both by public and private employers.
The Protection of Women against Sexual Harassment at the
Workplace Bill is India's first attempt to institute laws
against sexual harassment in the workplace. The bill makes
it mandatory for all organizations, including private sector
organizations, to form committees, headed by women, for
it inquiry and assessment of complaints of sexual harassment
in the workplace. The bill terms any unwelcome sexual behavior,
advances-verbal, physical, graphic or electronic, including
SMS- and humiliating or hostile conducts as sexual harassment.
WPC has worked diligently for the passage of the Sexual
Harassment Bill in Parliament through a bilateral approach
that includes first, tracking the bill and its status in
the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) and
second, sending letters to Members of Parliament (MPs)
asking for their support if and when the bill is tabled
in Parliament. Included in these letters, WPC provides
the most salient elements of the bill for each Member of
Parliament. WPC has been in constant contact with the MWCD
and has lobbied extensively to get the bill tabled during
the monsoon session this year.
In addition to the bilateral lobbying approach, WPC has
taken the following initiatives on the Protection of Women
Against Sexual Harassment at the Workplace Bill:
A regional workshop for eastern states was organized on this issue in Kolkata on November 3-4, 2006. The seventy-five participants who the event came from a wide range of sectors including trade unions, political spheres, academia, private companies, public sector undertakings (PSUs) and civil society organizations.
WPC is a part of the Core Committee formed for making suggestions in the draft sexual harassment bill. In March 2007 WPC sent a set of recommendations to the concerned ministries. These recommendations include:
Clarify the applicability of the bill and expand the scope of coverage of incidents of harassment. According to WPC, the bill in its current form does not clearly state under what circumstances a woman can bring a charge of harassment. In addition, the bill does not sufficiently outline all scenarios in which sexual harassment must not take place.
Clarify within the bill whether any establishment that has violated a provision can be forced to pay monetary damages to the aggrieved party.
Assign personal liability within the bill to any party who victimizes a sexual harassment complainant for having brought a complaint.
Include in the bill a sex-based discrimination clause as to create gender-neutrality.
WPC’s Assam Chapter in Guwahati conducted a state-level meeting on May 28, 2007 to address the issue of ‘Protection of Women against Sexual Harassment at Workplace’. Panelists at this event included the Chairperson of the State Women’s Commission and a member of the National Commission of Women.
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