Recent incidents in this part of the globe including one in north Kashmir’s educational institution calls for continuous endeavour to make institutions and workplaces in the formal as well as informal sector safe for women. While internal committees have been placed in the formal sector, not much has been done in terms of understanding the violence faced by women in the informal sector. Such violence can be tied up with several aspects including lack of basic amenities for women in the workplace.
The government in the ongoing winter session of the parliament underlined that the safety and security of women in the country is of utmost priority for it.
The Government of India has already enacted ‘The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013’ which aims to provide safe and secure work environment to women. The Act covers all women, irrespective of their age or employment status and whether working in organised or un-organised sector.
The legislation casts an obligation upon every employer of a workplace to provide a safe and secure working environment free from sexual harassment by constituting Internal Committee (IC) in case of having 10 or more employees, for receiving complaints of sexual harassment at workplace and by displaying at conspicuous places penal consequences of sexual harassment and order constituting IC. Similarly, the State Government or UT Administrations are authorized to notify the District Magistrate or Additional District Magistrate or the Collector or Deputy Collector as a District Officer for every district to exercise powers or discharge functions under this Act, which includes authority to constitute Local Committee (LC) in every district for receiving complaints from organizations having less than 10 workers or if the complaint is against employer himself. For this purpose, the District Officers shall designate one nodal officer in every block, taluka and tehsil in rural or tribal area and ward or municipality in the urban area to receive complaint and forward the same to LC.
The responsibility of the implementation of the Act at District and State levels rests with the State of the appropriate Government to monitor the implementation of the Act and maintain data on the number of cases filed and disposed of in respect of all cases of sexual harassment at workplace, which are established, owned, controlled or wholly or substantially financed by funds provided directly or indirectly by the State.
While laws are there, there is need for strict implementation by the concerned authorities. Some measures that can be implemented immediately include sensitising all women on gender-based violence and informing them about the laws that deal with such violence.
