Sexual harassment of women in workplaces
Sexual harassment affects women in all spaces of their existence. Working women are no exception. Working women most commonly face the backlash to women taking on new roles, which have always belonged to male domains within a patriarchal system. Sexual harassment at work is an extension of violence in everyday life; it is discriminatory and exploitative, and thrives in atmosphere of threat, terror and reprisal.
The issue of the famed Vishaka guidelines in 1997 was a landmark step for the abolition of sexual assault on women in workplaces in India. In the Vishaka and others vs. The State of Rajasthan, the Supreme Court took upon itself to form the guidelines following the writ petition filed after an alleged brutal gang rape of a social worker in a village in Rajasthan. The guidelines apply to both organized and unorganized work sectors and to all women whether working part time, on contract or in voluntary/honorary capacity. Although judgment was delivered in 1997, along with the guidelines, for six years after that no efforts were made in the direction of enacting a law. So the guidelines continued to be the law required to be followed across the country. But the guidelines were followed more in the breach. Very few complaints committees were set up, service rules were not amended as required, and the judgment was widely disregarded both by public and private employers. Around the same time many women who were being sexually harassed started breaking their silence, demanding action from their employers. The media also started giving significant space and time to this issue.
The World Health Organization has reported that up to 70% of female murder victims are killed by their male partners. In India, surveys conducted by the National Crime Records Bureau say that 45% of women are experiencing physical or psychological violence everyday. A survey conducted for the National Commission for Women found that nearly 50% had experienced gender discrimination at work. Yet, 85% of them had never heard of the existence of any law against sexual harassment.
Studies find that sexual harassment is still endemic, often hidden, and present in all kinds of organisations. Yet it is still not viewed as a problem which needs to be systematically tackled. The issue is of concern to both women and the employers as studies show that sexual harassment touches the lives of nearly 40-60% of working women.
Neeta Raymond, in her book “Combat Law”, says,”Supreme Court’s judgment in Visakha’s case is a landmark for more than one reason. Not only was sexual harassment at the workplace recognized under the Indian jurisprudence as a crucial problem faced by women workers, it also set out detailed guidelines for prevention and redressal of this malaise. In doing so, the Supreme Court did not merely confine itself to interpreting the law but went into the legislative exercise of law making. The Court travelled beyond its traditional confines of being the interpretative organ of laws and went into the terrain of law making which it has historically shied away from.”
Despite an ostensible acceptance of gender equality and a plethora of laws, violence against women is still a reality with drastic consequences. While the apex Court has given mandatory guidelines for resolution and prevention of sexual harassment, enjoining employers by holding them responsible for providing a safe work environment for women, the issue still remains under the carpet for most women and their employers.
Posted by
Anusha Surendran