Sexual Harassment At Work Place, Not OK Please!

By Savitha V on Thursday, March 13, 2008 - 21:59

Protection against sexual harassment at workplace is your right, demand for it, says Savitha V

Uninvited touches, unwelcome glances, sexual innuendoes thrown in casually into conversations. Several women go through this and more at their workplaces. Be it a dusty construction site or a swanky corporate office. And what do they do about it? Chances are that they put up with it and try to ignore it all, not realising that such advances from men qualify as sexual harassment, against which the law protects them.

It was a landmark Supreme Court ruling that resulted in legal protection for women against sexual harassment at the work place. Closing the Vishaka vs State of Rajasthan case in 1997, the apex court laid down guidelines and norms for specific protection of women from sexual harassment in work places. It held that it is the duty of the employer or other persons in work places or other institutions to prevent or deter acts of sexual harassment and to provide the procedure for the resolution, settlement or prosecution of acts of sexual harassment by taking all steps required.

And the story behind the case? Social worker Bhanwari Devi was gang raped in a remote village in Rajasthan for trying to prevent a child marriage. A women’s organisation called a writ in the Supreme Court, appealing for the enforcement of the fundamental rights of working women as guaranteed by the Constitution. They pointed out that while working women remained vulnerable to sexual harassment at the work place, neither the legislature nor the executive government was taking any effective preventive measure.

Over a decade after the ruling, there is still little awareness among working women on what their rights are, or even what qualifies for misconduct. Sexual harassment includes such unwelcome sexually determined behaviour (whether directly or by implication):
Physical contact and advances
A demand or request for sexual favours
Sexually coloured remarks
Showing pornography
Any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature.
It is the employer’s responsibility to not only prevent incidents of sexual harassment but also to have in place a complaints management mechanism and to create awareness about the rights. Sadly, most companies, both public and private, have ignored this ruling.

Does your company have a women’s welfare or a sexual harassment cell? If not, demand for one – you have a right to it. Have you had experiences that amount to sexual harassment at your workplace? Don’t sit back and try to ignore them, file a complaint.