Wednesday, December 5, 2018

AUG 18 SOC Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace

HAR ASSME NT OF WOME N AT WOR K PLACE

Why in news?

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has amended the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 and has made the disclosure of compliance (under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act) mandatory in the Annual Reports of Private companies.

Background

The Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) has been making continuous efforts to mainstream the implementation of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013.
All   ministries   and   departments under central government have to constitute Internal Complaints Committee.   Complaints   can   be filed under  the  Act directly  with the ministry through the SHE-Box.
In context of this the MWCD had requested the Ministry of Corporate Affairs for making disclosure of compliance mandatory in annual reports of private companies.

Rationale behind the amendment in rules

The  inclusion  of  the  compliance under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act in the non-financial disclosures will ensure that the issue gets into the focus  into  Board  of Directors  of the private companies. This will cast higher responsibility on the Directors  for  implementation  of the Act.

Harassment of women at workplace

Reason for harassment: The basic reason for women harassment at workplace lies in patriarchal structure of the society leading to a sense of male superiority. Apart from jealousy at work, there is general  feeling  of contempt  and disrespect against women which is visible through sexually perverted behaviours.


The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013:

It seeks to protect women from sexual harassment at their place of work. The Act defines sexual harassment at the workplace and creates a mechanism for redressal of complaints.
The definition of “aggrieved woman,” who will get protection under the Act, is extremely wide to cover all women, irrespective of their age or employment status and whether in the organized or unorganized sectors, public or private, and covers clients, customers and domestic workers as well.
The Act covers concepts of quid pro quo harassment and hostile work environment as forms of sexual harassment if they occur in connection with an act or behaviour of sexual harassment.
An internal complaints committee (ICC) is mandatory in every private or public organisation that has 10 or more employees.
The Internal Complaints Committee has been given powers of a civil court for summoning, discovery and production of documents etc.
Each  Internal  Committee  requires  membership  from  an  NGO  or association committed to the cause of women.
A ‘Local Complaints Committee’ is required to be constituted in every district. An additional ‘Local Complaints Committee’ shall also be constituted at the block level to address complaints in situations where the  complainant  does not  have  recourse  to  an  Internal  Complaints Committee or where the complaint is against the employer himself.
•    It also provides safeguards against false or malicious charges.

Criticism of the Act

The internal committee formed under this act has the power to decide a monetary fine which must be paid by the perpetrator, depending on their income and financial stability. This is a kind of  discriminatory method, it supports and envisages inequality among different sections of the society, for example, a person earning low income would be paying a lower fine compared to a senior who earns more.
•    The Act does not cover the agricultural workers and armed forces.
The Act does not satisfactorily address accountability. It does not specify who is in charge of ensuring that workplaces comply with the Act.
It is not a gender-neutral legislation and protects only women from sexual harassment at workplace.





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Between 2014   and   2015   cases   of sexual harassment within office premises   more   than   doubled   and there has also been a 51% rise in sexual harassment cases at other places related to work in 2015.
In 2017, the National Commission for Women received an average of 1.7 complaints of sexual harassment at workplace per day.
60%  of  complaints  received  in  2017 were from five states: Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana.
In 2015 a study by FICCI titled Fostering Safe Workplaces showed that 36% of Indian     companies     and     25%     of


Reasons for failure to report safety concerns:
Lack of understanding: Most women perceive that the behavior is not serious enough for them to take the next step and complain as there is a lack of understanding of what harassment is, the laws covering women safety and what they entail.
Lack  of  faith:  Women  lack  faith  in  the  complaints  process  as registering a complaint can be embarrassing and the complaint process seem difficult and useless.
Fear  of  retaliation:  The  fear  of  retaliation  by  the  harasser  or organization also makes them silent about it.
Self-judgement: Some women consider that they can take care of the situation themselves rather than going through the entire complaints redressal procedure.
Social stigma: There is a stigma attached to sexual harassment in Indian society. Most of the time women are looked down upon if they report such a case, irrespective of who is at fault in that situation. Several incidences of shaming at social media of women who report sexual abuse have been observed.
multinational  companies  had  not  yet  constituted their ICCs. About 50% of the more than 120 companies that participated in the study admitted that their ICC members were not legally trained.
The  Act  imposes  a  penalty  of  upto  Rs  50,000  on employers who do not implement the Act in the workplace or even fail to constitute an ICC. But, the number of employers who do not fully comply with the law indicates  that there is little monitoring  of their redressal machinery.
According  to a survey conducted  by the Indian Bar Association in 2017, 70% women did not report sexual harassment by superiors.

Measures which an organisation can take to enhance the safety of women at workplace

Getting women to speak up: The organisation should make the environment conducive enough for women to register complaints against any such act. The registration complaints in severe cases directed to the government should be fast-tracked.
Deploying technology: Technology such as GPS, CCTV cameras,  mobile  apps  etc  should  be  leveraged  to create secure workplace and transportation to the women employees.
Gender   sensitisation   training:   Corporates   should conduct gender-sensitization trainings and awareness programs for both men and women across their operations.
Mandating appropriate work practices: Organisations often give more importance towards productivity than safety which gives a wrong signal to employees. The top management  level should  try to make safety a priority.
Instituting safe working conditions: With a growing economy, working multiple shifts and late hours at the


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office are quite common. The rising crimes against women limits their capabilities. Therefore, an organization may permit women to look at options such as telecommuting, leaving the office on time and catching up on unfinished work at home. Female security guards can be posted at necessary points in offices and a basic pantry inside the office premises can be provided so that women employees need not venture out for dinner when working late.
Zero tolerance policy should be adopted within code of conduct for employees to show companies' firmness against such sexual harassment.
Successful "Campaigns like #MeToo and #TimesUp have helped more and more women to come up and speak of their experiences of abuse.

Conclusion

Women always have to trade-off between safety and financial security which partly explains India’s low female workforce participation rate as the fear of harassment keeps many skilled women away from the workforce. This is hurting India’s productivity and economic growth, as According to World Bank estimates, India’s economic growth can rise by a full percentage point if it even manages to raise its female LFPR to the level of Bangladesh. An adequate monitoring and redressal of sexual harassment in companies can play an important role in creating an enabling environment for women.

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