Harassment hell

Even a decade after the Supreme Court instituted the Vishakha guidelines to check sexual harassment at workplaces, companies are dragging their feet on its implementation. Will a currently-pending bill add more teeth to a much-needed redress system? Anshika Misra plugs into the debate

As a simple exercise, walk up to the human resources (HR) manager in your office and ask if your organisation has an 'internal complaints committee'.

If the answer is "no", then your company is among several others which are violating a Supreme Court order stipulating guidelines to prevent sexual harassment at the workplace.

On August 13, 1997, the SC passed the Vishakha judgment defining sexual harassment at the workplace, and made it mandatory for employers to set up a complaints committee to not only address complaints, but also undertake preventive measures. Ten years later, implementation of the Vishakha guidelines continues to be poor.

"Most organisations undervalue the preventive aspect and do not bother setting up a committee until they receive a complaint," says Anagha Sarpotdar of India Centre for Human Rights and Law (ICHLR). The SC order does not, however, stipulate any punishment for non-compliance.

What may, instead, is the Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, 2006, which is pending approval by the legislature to become a law. The bill, if cleared, will aim to bolster and correct weaknesses in the Vishakha guidelines.

It recognises the right of women to work in an environment free from sexual harassment, thus making such offences an infringement of a woman's fundamental right to gender equality and right to live with dignity. If enacted, the bill will provide a uniform procedure for conducting inquiries into sexual harassment complaints across all sectors, including the government, armed forces and private organisations.

In fact, the bill expands the scope of a workplace to include unorganised sectors like agriculture, construction work, domestic work and the service industry as well. It will most certainly cover harassment of students and clients.

Adds Sarpotdar, "Most women in the organised sector understand the issue and know how to deal with it. The problem, however, lies with the unorganised sector where women do not understand they are being exploited, or do not know where to go with their complaints. There is a need to create awareness about what is sexual harassment and perhaps amend the common belief among people that she asked for it by dressing or behaving in a certain way."

The bill makes it mandatory for employers to set up an internal complaints committee - headed by a woman - for three-year terms. It stipulates a 90-day period from receiving a complaint to completing an inquiry, and if the report confirms sexual harassment, then action must be taken against the accused within three months. The bill also provides for imposition of a minimum fine of Rs10,000 on employers for not having a committee or failing to act on the complaint within the stipulated time.

Most significantly, the bill seeks to protect a complainant and witnesses against victimisation by providing that their service conditions cannot be altered while the complaint is pending.

It provides confidentiality and payment of compensation to the complainant for mental trauma, loss of career opportunity and medical expenses depending on the income and career status of the accused. Delay in filing a complaint and lack of eyewitnesses should not work against the veracity of a complaint.

"The provisions in the law are good enough to deal with sexual harassment issues in India," says lawyer Veena Gowda. "The need is to make the system work. What we need to do is use the available laws judiciously."

There is considerable work left, however. For instance, the bill fails to stress the preventive aspect and is vague about dealing with sexual harassment complaints against a third party, like a doctor or lawyer. The penalty for non-compliance is too meagre, say activists.

(With inputs from Sanghamitra Bhowmik)