Introduction
Sexual harassment at the workplace is a serious issue that
impacts safety, dignity, and productivity. The POSH Act 2013 ensures
workplaces are safe, gender-neutral, and respectful. It defines harassment,
explains preventive measures, and provides a clear mechanism for filing
complaints and getting redressal. Understanding this law is essential for
employees and employers to maintain a safe and professional environment.
🌟 Understanding
Gender Concepts
🔹 Gender
Bias
Gender
bias is a form of prejudice between the men and women based on their gender. For instance, a boy's education
is given more importance than a girl's education.
Example:
Prioritizing boys’ education over girls’.
🔹 Gender Gap
Gender gap is a
difference between the way men and women are treated in society or between what they do and achieve. For
example, a man being paid more than a woman
at the same job-role, with the same aptitude.
🔹 Gender Neutral
Being gender neutral is
an approach to planning and policy-making that assumes the impact on women, men, girls and boys, as if they were
part of one homogeneous group. For
instance, assuming that men are usually taller than women, fixing the height of the podium in conference halls on the basis
of the height of men.
🔹 Gender Stereotyping
Gender stereotyping is
assignment of roles, tasks, and responsibilities to a particular gender, on the basis of preconceived
prejudices. For instance, we assume all masons to be men and all nurses to be women.
🔹 Gender Role Perception
Gender role perception
refers to different tasks, responsibilities and expectations that the society defines and allocates to men,
women, boys, and girls. These are not necessarily
determined by biological differences and therefore, can change with time and in different situations.
🔹 Gender Discrimination
Gender discrimination is
when one gender is given preferential treatment; for example, promoting a male employee over a female when
both candidates are equally deserving.
The three most prominent facets of gender discrimination are societal perpetration, domestic violence, and
sexual harassment at workplace.
Facets: societal biases,
domestic violence, sexual harassment at workplace.
⚡ Kinds of Sexual
Harassment
💠 Quid
Pro Quo
Demanding
sexual favors in exchange for promotions, pay raises, or job security. Non- compliance
can result in retaliation.
💠 Hostile Work
Environment
Ongoing
harassment creating a stressful workplace, including gossip, offensive remarks, or intimidation.
⚜️ Vishakha
Guidelines – Background & Principles
🏛️ Bhanwari Devi Case
In 1992, social worker Bhanwari Devi
was gang-raped in Rajasthan for preventing
child marriage. The Supreme Court introduced Vishakha Guidelines (1997) to protect women at
workplaces before formal legislation existed.
🏛️ Key
Guidelines
1. Employer
Responsibility Employer's Responsibility: Guidelines should
be laid down to effectively and efficiently deal with the sexual harassment
instance bought forward for redressal. Fundamental rights of women workers
should be protected with legal action.
2. Criminal
Proceeding Criminal Proceeding: When a conduct amounts
to a specific offence under the Indian Penal Code or under any other law, the
employer should take appropriate action, in accordance with law. A complaint
should be made to the appropriate authority. The company must make sure that
the victims or the witnesses are protected under the law while dealing with
complaints of sexual harassment.
3. Complaint
Mechanism: Every organization should have a
complaint mechanism to redress cases of sexual harassment. They should be
time-bound and each complaint should be treated fairly with the same set of
guidelines.
4. Complaint
Committee: There should also be a special counsellor
or other support service to deal with the complaint. This committee should be
headed by a woman and more than half of the committee should include women. The
committee should involve a third party, either an NGO or another independent
body who is familiar with the issue of sexual harassment.
5. Worker's
Initiative: Employees should be encouraged to raise
issues of sexual harassment at the worker's meeting or any other appropriate
forum. They should be able to discuss the same in Employer-Employee meetings.
6. Awareness: Female employees should be made aware of their rights.
Further, guidelines should be created and notified in a suitable manner.
✨ Definitions
✨ Sexual
Harassment Includes:
§ Physical contact or advances
§ Requests for sexual favors
§ Sexually colored remarks
§ Displaying pornography
§ Any unwelcome verbal, non-verbal, or physical conduct
✨ Prevention
§ Anti-harassment policies
§ Employee and manager training
§ Awareness campaigns
✨ Prohibition
§ Complaint
details are confidential
§ Identities
of victims, respondents, and witnesses protected
§ Employer
or District Officer actions must remain private
✨ Redressal Mechanism
§ Internal
Complaints Committee (ICC): Workplace-level redressal
§ Local
Complaints Committee (LCC): District or block-level redressal
§ District
Officer ensures proper implementation
💎 Benefits
of Preventing Sexual Harassment
·
Strengthens Workplace Culture : Builds
trust and encourages professional conduct.
·
Establishes Acceptable Behavior: Defines
what is unacceptable, such as offensive jokes or appearance comments.
·
Empowers Victims to Speak Up: Supports
employees to report harassment without fear.
·
Encourages Confidentiality and
Justice : Ensures anonymous reporting and fair resolution.
🌈 Conclusion
The POSH Act 2013 is
essential for creating safe, gender-neutral workplaces. It combines
legal redressal with preventive measures to empower employees, prevent
harassment, and maintain professional work culture. Awareness, enforcement, and
compliance are key to achieving a harassment-free workplace.
