Prevention of Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace

Statutory Provision – Prevention of sexual harassment Act

Key terms used in POSH Act

Gender Bias
- A form of prejudice between men and women based on their gender. E.g, a boy’s education is given more importance than a girl’s education.
Gender Gap
- It is a difference between how men and women are treated in society, or what they do and achieve. E.g, a man being paid more than women 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. E.g, Fixing the height of the podium in conference halls on the basis of the height of a man
Gender Stereotyping
- It is the assignment of roles, tasks, and responsibilities to a particular gender, on the basis of preconceived prejudices. E.g, we assume all masons to be men and all nurses to be women.
Gender Role Perception
- It refers to different tasks, responsibilities and expectations that society defines and allocates to men, women, boys and girls. Biological differences do not necessarily determine these and can change with time and in different situations.
Gender Discrimination
- It is when one gender is given preferential treatment. E.g 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 in the workplace.

It is traditionally divided into two forms

Quid Pro Quo
- Literally meaning “this for that” – means seeking sexual favours or advances in exchange for work benefits like promotion, higher pay…etc
Hostile Work Environment
- It commonly involves mental harassment towards a male or female worker, where going through torment every day at the workplace makes it unbearable for them. E.g commenting about skin colour, gender and appearance…etc

Employer’s Responsibility – Guidelines should be laid down to effectively and efficiently deal with the sexual harassment instance bought forward for redressal. The fundamental rights of women workers should be protected with legal action.
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 the law.
Complaint Mechanism – Every organisation 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.
Complaint Committee – There should also be a special counsellor or other support services to deal with the complaint. This 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 that is familiar with the issue of sexual harassment.
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.
Awareness – Female employees should be made aware of their rights. Further, guidelines should be created and notified in a suitable manner.

Sexual Harassment – It includes
- Physical contact & advances
- Demand or request for sexual favours
- Sexually-coloured remarks
- Showing any pornography
- Unwelcome physical, verbal, and non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature
Prevention
- Adopting a clear sexual harassment prevention policy
- Training employees, supervisors, and managers
- Generating awareness about identifying and preventing sexual harassment in the workplace
Prohibition
- The act states that publishing or revealing the content of the complaint must be prohibited.
- The identity and addresses of the aggrieved women, respondents, and witnesses or any information related to conciliation and inquiry proceedings should also not be revealed or made public.
- The action taken by the employer or the district officer under the provisions of this act shall not be published, communicated, or made known to the public, press and media in any manner.
Redressal
- The POSH Act provides for the constitution of an ‘ Internal Complaints Committee ‘ at the workplace and a ‘ local complaints committee ‘ at the district and block levels.
- District Officer ( District Collector or Deputy Collector) is responsible for facilitating and monitoring the implementation of the provisions under that Act.

Internal Complaints Committee(ICC) – Formed by the employer
- Mandatory for the public and private sectors to constitute ICC
- Responsibilities
  - generating awareness
  - preventing sexual harassment in the workplace
  - conducting an inquiry into complaints of sexual harassment
- Presiding Officer should be a woman at the senior level
- 2 members – committed to the cause of women’s welfare
- 1 NGO member
  - Committed to the cause of women’s welfare or
  - Handles issues related to sexual harassment and
  - Familiar with labour, service, civil and criminal law
- Members nominated by employers for up to 3 years
Local complaints committee(LCC) – Formed by the District Officer
- Receives complaints from
  - unorganised sector
  - Organisations not having ICC (<10 employees)
  - The perpetrator is the employer himself
- Chairperson – Eminent women social worker
- 2 more women members working in that block/ward/municipality
- One concerned Officer – Working towards women and child development in the district

Lodged by
- Aggrieved women herself
- Any relatives or friends
- Co-workers
- Qualified psychologist, psychiatrist
- Special educator
A complaint can be lodged even after the death of the complainant
The complainant has to submit 6 copies with all supporting documents
within 3 months from the date of the incident
ICC reserves the right to extend the time limit by another 3 months
ICC or LCC should provide assistance in writing a complaint if unable to write herself
Stages
1. Receipt of Complaint
2. Planning Carefully
3. Interviews
4. Reasoning
5. Findings
6. Report Writing

If aggrieved women are not satisfied with the judgement of ICC/LCC she can appeal for re-inquiry
The process of appeal should be in accordance with service rules
In absence of service rules, she can appeal in labour court
Appeal to be filed within 90 days from date of judgement

Compensation – ICC/LCC will decide the compensation and made in a lump sum or in instalments
Criminal Offence and Penalty
- Not forming ICC is a non-cognizable offence
- Employers can be penalized up to Rs.50,000
- Repeated offences may lead to the cancellation of license/registration
Major Penalties for the Perpetrator
- Demotion
- Deduction in salary for compensation
- Suspension
- Compulsory retirement
- Removal or termination from service
Minor Penalties for the perpetrator
- Censure
- Written apology
- Warning
- Withholding promotion/increment/appraisal/reduction to a lower scale
- Counselling and community service