Manish Kumar
Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Oct 9: Sangeeta Mohanty (name changed) was on cloud nine when she joined a rural marketing firm after obtaining a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from the Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) with a lucrative package.
Bolstered with her passion to work in this sector she started working hard to perform well. However, she was in for jolt when one of his seniors started asking for some undue favours. Situation worsened when he also started forcing Sangeeta (28) to please some of her clients by going out for late night parties. Though she was unwilling to join them for drinks, she was also told to please some of her clients as the situation demanded.
“After facing such harassments I appealed to the company’s internal panel on sexual harassment which never took the matter seriously and to my bewilderment I was transferred to another branch with an adverse performance report,” said Mohanty.
Anti-sexual harassment cells in several private offices are flouting Vishakha guidelines and making the female vulnerable to face such humiliation silently, opined Sangeeta.
Like Sangeeta there are many others who recount similar unbearable experience meted out to them by such internal cells. Vishakha guidelines issued by the Supreme Court years back insisted on establishment of anti-sexual harassment cells at workplaces in all sectors – public, private or PSU. However, many private offices and even some PSUs are shying away from adopting the prescribed norms or are casually implementing some of them.
Activists and experts working in the field of women welfare claim that a number of offices, mostly in the private sector, are flouting the Vishakha norms and turning the working conditions nightmarish experience for women.
Namrata Chadda, member, Juvenile Justice Board and a third party member of such panels in some Central government units, said, “When it comes to establishment of anti-sexual harassment committees at workplaces, private sector companies are the biggest defaulters. Most of them either do not have such cells on their premises as prescribed by the Vishakha guidelines or do not include any third party or independent member into the panel. Often members are chosen from among close relatives of the employers.”
Experts say that even Supreme Court guidelines like giving adequate publicity to Vishakha guidelines on the office premises are flouted by many.
The Orissa State Commission for Women which is working to create awareness in various sectors said the commission will soon venture into educational institutions and private sector companies to ensure the smooth functioning of such committees.
State women commission chairperson Lopamudra Baxipatra said, “We are trying to create awareness for implementing Vishakha norms. We have conducted workshops in government offices. Around 60 per cent of government offices have such internal panels. Now we are planning to work with educational institutions and later we will shift our focus to private sector companies to constitute such internal panels.”
The commission will also interact with private sector companies to ensure such committees come up and curb sexual harassment at workplaces, she said, adding the commission has been preparing a list of deserving candidates who can become independent third-party members.
BOX
– What are Vishakha Guidelines?
A set of procedural guidelines issued by the Supreme Court in 1997 for use in case of sexual harassment at workplaces. The norms were superseded in 2013 by The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.
– What is sexual harassment
o Physical contact and advances
o A demand or request for sexual favours
o Sexually coloured remarks
o Showing pornography
o Any unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature
– Know your right
o The complaints committee should be headed by a woman and half of the members of the committee should be women.
o Such committees should involve a third party, either an NGO or other body which is familiar sexual harassment issues.
o The panel must make an annual report to the government department concerned of the complaints and action taken.
o Victims of sexual harassment should have the option to seek transfer of the perpetrator or their own transfer.
o Employers should notify, publicise or circulate in appropriate ways the internal committee.
