MODULE 2C

The Sexual Harassment of Women at

Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and
Redressal) Act, 2013: An Overview

"Telangana: Medical doctor booked for harassing doctor; Bihar: Rise in case of domestic
violence, sexual harassment after; Tamil Nadu: Employer held for sexually harassing woman,
19". These news headlines and others like them grab attention towards sexual harassment at
the workplace – sexual violence committed by male colleagues or employers at the
workplace. As of 2019, there are approx 19.45% working women in India out of the total
female population which is estimated around 48% of the total population. The rate of crime in
the workplace against women has been increasing rapidly, not just in our country and also
around the globe.

There are many provisions in IPC which protect women from sexual harassment cases such
as Section 354 which stipulates the punishment for assaulting or using criminal force against
women with intent to outrage her modesty. But this law was old and did not hold much
ground in modern situations. Looking at the seriousness of the cause, the Supreme Court
suggested the Government to enact a separate law for working women's safety. Today, the
law which looks after cases of sexual harassment with women at the workplace is called The
Sexual Harassment at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.

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The judgment in Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan1 the case laid the foundation of this act. In
1992, a womanof not so privileged caste employed in Rajasthan Government's Women's
Development Programme was harassed in the course of her work and raped by five men as a
punishment for stopping the child marriage. Following this incident, four women's
organizations came together and filed a writ petition in Supreme Court asking for laws to
protect women at workplace. In its judgment, the Supreme Court issued guidelines for the
same which came to be known as Vishaka guidelines and asked the government to make laws
to protect women at the workplace following the Vishaka guidelines. The Vishaka guidelines
were derived from the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against
Women (CEDAW). India ratified in the year 1993 and in the year 1997 Supreme Court
issued laid down Vishaka guidelines. Hence, the posh act is the result of convention and
judgment together.

The formulation of the act had been a difficult task for the legislature which can be proved
from the fact that earlier in 2005 and 2007, two distinct bills were introduced in parliament
and rejected. The reason for the rejection of the bill in 2005 is presumed to be its wide scope
and was not in parallel to the Vishaka guidelines in 2007. Later, in 2013 another bill was
passed in parliament and this act came into force.

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

Act, 2013 was enacted after 16 years of Vishaka case. Section 2(n) of the act defines the term
sexual harassment as any one or more of the following unwelcome acts or behaviour, whether
directly or by implication, namely :

a. Physical contact or advances; or

b. A demand or request for sexual favours; or
c. Making sexually coloured remarks; or
d. Showing pornography; or

1
AIR 1997 SCC 3011
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 e. Any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature2.

Later, the Delhi High Court in Shanta Kumar v. CSIR held that "undoubtedly, physical
contact or advances would constitute sexual harassment provided such physical contact is
a part of the sexually determined behaviour. A physical contact which has no undertone
of a sexual nature and is not occasioned by the gender of the complainant may not
necessarily amount to sexual harassment".

Other terms such as domestic worker, employee, employer, workplace, unorganized

sector, and other, are well defined in sub-sections of section 2 of the act. The definition of
these words explains the scope of the act.

It also mentions the circumstances under which any act or behaviour may amount to
sexual harassment. These are :

a. Implied or explicit promise of preferential treatment in her employment; or

b. Implied or explicit threat of detrimental treatment in her employment; or
c. Implied or explicit threat about her present or future employment status; or
d. Interference with her work or creating an intimidating or offensive or hostile work
environment for her; or
e. Humiliating treatment likely to affect her health or safety3.

The act implies an obligation on an employer to constitute an internal complaint

committee in all administrative units located at different places. That committee should
consist of at least four members and one-half of the nominated members shall be women.
The members of the committee should hold office for a period not exceeding three years.
Any of the members can be removed under the circumstances given in section 4(5) of the
act.

2
Section 2(n), The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace, 2013
3
Section 3(2), The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace, 2013
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 According to the act, another committee called as local complaints committee shall be
constituted in the district by district officer and a nodal officer should be appointed in
each unit to receive complaints and forward the same within a period of seven days. The
formation of the local committee is concerned for the organizations and institutions where
the number of employees is less than 10. The committee should consist of four members
and the members should be appointed for a tenure of a maximum of three years. Alike
local committee, any member of the committee can be removed under the circumstances
provided in section 7(3) of the act. The fees of the members appointed in the local
committee shall be paid from funds granted by parliament.

Any complaint of sexual harassment can be made by an aggrieved woman or her legal
heirs within a period of three months from the date of the incident in writing. Members of
the committee must assist the aggrieved in case she is not able to file a complaint in
writing. The period for filing the complaint can be exceeded for the next three months if
members of the committee are convinced with the fact that the aggrieved was prevented
from filing a complaint.

On receiving the complaint the committee shall try to conciliate between the complainant
and the respondent. When a settlement is agreed upon so further inquiry can be conducted
for the same but if the conciliation fails, then the committee should move further with the
inquiry. In cases including domestic workers, if committee prima facie believes that the
respondent is at fault, then it can forward the complaint to the police.

The aggrieved woman can be transferred or granted leave or granted some other relief if
she makes a written request during the pendency of inquiry. On completion of the inquiry,
the committee should provide the report of findings to the employer or district employer
as the case may be. In case, the allegations against the respondent have been proved,
action must be taken against him based on the recommendation of the committee.

There are other provisions in the act to protect the interests of both, complainant and
respondent. On filing a malicious complaint, the complainant can be punished by the
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 committee. An appeal can also be made in the court of law in case any party is unsatisfied
with the recommendations of the committee within 90 days.

The act strictly prohibits the publication of any information or content related to the
complaint and inquiry proceedings. It also penalizes the person entrusted with
information for publication or making known the content of complaint and inquiry
proceedings.

The act defines the duties of employers and district officers in Section 19 and 20
respectively. Other miscellaneous provisions define the duties and powers of government.
It states the power of the government to make rules and remove difficulties. It states the
penalty to be imposed on employers for non-compliance with the provisions of the act.
This act also takes into the cognizance of offense by courts.

This act, like many other acts, is capable of accomplishing its propose. It really can
protect women from any kind of sexual harassment at the workplace. The capability of
this act can be proved with the fact that after its enactment there was a 54% rise in sexual
harassment cases reported at the workplace between 2014-17. After the enactment of the
act, more and more people are showing up and filing their cases. This creates hope for an
improved and secure future of women in the country, especially, at the workplace.

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