Sexual Harassment at Workplace is Employment Issue not Women’s Issue

"She was powerful, not because she wasn’t scared but because she went on so strongly despite the fear."-Atticus Poetry

Traditionally, women in India were conditioned to stay at home and take care of the young children and family whereas men had the role of the breadwinners. However, today, more and more women are getting access to education and working shoulder to shoulder with men at workplaces. A radical change in the role of women is evident with increased number of job opportunities and women empowerment in the Indian economy. With millions of Indian women entering the nation’s workforce, the sexual harassment cases at workplaces are also increasing rapidly.  Working women facing sexual harassment at the workplace has considered as the part and parcel of their jobs. Therefore, it is crucial that as a nation, we strive to eliminate workplace sexual harassment since women also have the right to work in a safe and secure environment. Protection of women against sexual harassment is necessary for gender equality and the development of a nation as a whole.  

The fundamental problem acknowledged in most of the cases is that the sexual harassment at the workplace is considered to be a ‘women’s issue’ as per majority of stakeholders. One needs to understand that the sexual harassment cases against women at workplaces is an employment issue and not women’s issue. The focus needs to be on creating a safe working environment for both the genders. It is crucial to address the real problem of a hostile work environment by developing gender-sensitive social protection policies. Every woman has right to a safe and secure working environment, irrespective of age, employment status and capacity of work.

Sexual harassment is defined as “violence against women and a discriminatory treatment” which is a broad definition compared to the national law but whereas, in the general sense it is known as “unwelcome sexual favors and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that tends to create a hostile or offensive work environment”. Sexual Harassment is any unwanted remark or gesture towards women which is sexual in nature and this includes many activities. According to Section 354A of the Indian Penal Code, Sexual Harassment as an unwelcome physical contact and advances, including unwanted and explicit sexual overtures, a demand or request for sexual favors, showing someone sexual images without their consent, and making unwelcome sexual remarks.

• Registered cases of sexual harassment at Indian workplaces from 54% from 371 in 2014 to 570 in 2017

• Till July 27, 533 cases of sexual harassment were reported across the nation

• Uttar Pradesh, the nation’s most populous state reported the most cases (726 or 29%) over 2014-18, followed by Delhi (369), Haryana (171), Madhya Pradesh (154), and Maharashtra (147) as per the data presented in Lok Sabha.

https://www.indiaspend.com/metooindia-54-rise-in-sexual-harassment-reported-at-workplaces-between-2014-17/

Despite these numbers, sexual assault is one of the most under-reported crimes in the our nation. Therefore, the PoSh Act came as the life saver for the organizations. The PoSH Act works on the prevention of sexual harassment against women at the workplace in the whole of India. The main aim of the Act was the protection of women, prevention, and redressal of sexual harassment complaints. Sexual harassment under the purview of employment issue involves lack of PoSH policies and when the employees in the organizations are not given proper training of such activities related to PoSH. An organization should always mention the acceptable behavior and etiquettes from both the genders in its PoSH policies and make the employees informed about the repercussions they could face if these policies are not followed diligently.  It is crucial to acknowledge such cases and take charge to correct it promptly otherwise organizations has to deal with reputational crisis and financial losses. Sexual harassment at workplaces also hamper the productivity of employees as they have to face emotional and physical issues which causes stress, anxiety and depression resulting in no or low work motivation and high attrition rate. 

Although, with the emergence of the PoSh Act, such cases are now identified, but the number of cases have not reduced. It has increased the visibility, awareness, and recognition even at the grassroots level of organizations. It has empowered many women employees by prescribing a comparatively convenient mechanism of complaint redressal in such cases. However, due to the poor implementation and awareness of the PoSH Act, this problem continues to be pervasive and rampant. While the PoSH Act is widely regarded as milestone legislation in India’s history, a great deal of work needs to be done to make sure a safe, equal, and secure working environment for all women.

The PoSH Act has a wide scope i.e., it not only focuses on the organized sector but also takes care of the women working in the unorganized sector or we can say that it covers formal as well as the informal economies. A large part of the unorganized sector comprises the female workforce, and due to their vulnerability and lack of agency, effective implementation of the PoSH Act becomes more pertinent in this sector. Also, Times of India have claimed that incidents of workplace sexual harassment have dramatically increased after the lockdown triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. With the shift to remote working or working in a virtual environment, sexual predators have found new tools to threaten and abuse women by taking screen captures during video calls without permission and circulating them on social media, managers demanding women colleagues to attend impromptu meetings post office hours, using phallic emoticons, and offering to send pictures. A large number of women reported being subjected to new forms of sexual harassment online such as “zoom-bombing” which is basically the unwanted, disruptive action generally done by internet trolls into a video-conference

To prevent sexual harassment in the virtual scenario organizations should check and update their policies, set expectations, and also should publicize reporting procedures which should involve the accessibility of the PoSH policy on the company’s intranet. An organization should implement various measures to prevent sexual harassment, some of which   are as follows:

• Express prohibition of sexual harassment at the workplace should be notified, published, and circulated inappropriate ways.

• The rules of government and public sector bodies relating to conduct and discipline should include rules prohibiting sexual harassment as well. 

• Appropriate working conditions should be provided in respect of work, leisure, health, and hygiene to further ensure that there is no hostile environment towards women at workplaces.

• Train your employees at least once a quarter or on half yearly basis by conducting training sessions for employees. These sessions should teach employees what actually sexual harassment is, explain that employees have a right to a workplace free of sexual harassment, review your complaint procedure, and encourage employees to use it.

• Supervisors and managers should have their training sessions as well in which they should know and discuss how to handle the situations of sexual harassment and also deal with the complaints.

(Source: https://crpf.gov.in/writereaddata/images/pdf/1153112020.pdf )

Also, it is crucial to create awareness amongst society not only be it women but individuals of every gender as mostly men are not even aware of what is considered as sexual harassment. They should be made aware that activities like staring, passing comments are considered as sexual harassment under PoSH Act. The constitution of Internal Complaints Committee is to be established in all organizations with 10 or more employees wherein inappropriate conduct and behavior amount to an offense pertaining to the Indian Penal Code (IPC) or under any other law. The complaints committee should be headed by a woman and not less than half of its members should be women. Further, to prevent the possibility of any undue pressure or influence from senior levels, such complaints committee should involve a third party, either NGO or another body who is familiar with the issue of sexual harassment. Although, there is more to worry about under-reporting than people misusing the law, and also India being a late entrant in formalizing sexual harassment at the workplace as a penal offense punishable with imprisonment and penalty is a problem. However, with the PoSH Act policies and the advent of the present legislation, a paradigm shift can be noticed in the way employers are being made liable for the breach of law and also a radical change in women employees as they are not just getting confident but also have started to change their thinking which could be a glass breaker in these kinds of situations

Organizations should be encouraged to offer a fixed amount of training to their employers every month and if not, they should be provided with awareness videos, posters and related information which would be helpful to them. even if it isn't legally required. Also, your managers should be aware of all such activities so that they will know what the law is and what to do when employees complain, and, if you find yourself in a lawsuit, you'll be able to show that you took all the steps to try to prevent harassment. PoSH policies training is now a requisite for every organization in order to eliminate this menace in a multi-cultural society as ours. NDIM  has taken an initiative to create awareness on sexual harassment issues by delivering a training programme on PoSH policies. The main aim of this programme is to facilitate a safer working environment for women and made employees feel valued, involved and informed about their rights because all corporate strengths are dependent on people.