BHUBANESWAR: Sexual harassment at workplace, which is a growing concern among women in the country, has not been reported from Odisha in 2015 and 2016.
Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha recently, Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani informed the House that eight cases of sexual harassment at workplace were recorded in Odisha in 2014. However, no such incidents were reported from the State in next two years.
“Between 2014 and 2016, a total of 76 sexual harassment cases were reported in Bihar followed by 56 in Delhi, 48 in Maharashtra and 45 in Telangana.
While Delhi recorded 11 and 36 cases in 2014 and 2015 respectively, Bihar saw 73 cases of sexual harassment at workplace in 2016. A total of 142 such cases were reported across the country in 2016, 119 in 2015 and 57 in 2014,” said the Minister.
Corroborating the fact, Odisha DGP Dr RP Sharma said increased awareness on sexual harassment at workplace in the last few years after the Supreme Court judgment has helped check the menace.
Moreover, the mechanism put in place as per the guidelines in public and private offices has brought down sexual harassment cases.
If the internal complaint committees at workplaces are not able to resolve any matter which is a cognisable offence, victims should immediately lodge a police complaint, he said.
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Dr Sharma said police officials have been directed to take prompt action on receiving complaints of sexual harassment at the workplace. Exemplary action against culprits not only acts as a deterrent but also helps prevent such crimes in future, he added.
A woman working with a private firm here said the role of police in preventing incidents of sexual harassment at workplace is limited. “Primarily, the company’s work culture, employees and the mechanism act as a restraint against such crimes,” she said.
In its August 13, 1997 verdict, the Supreme Court had laid down detailed guidelines for setting up internal complaint committee headed by a woman in every Government and private organisation to deal with complaints of sexual harassment at workplace.
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, Redressal) Act enacted in 2013 is more elaborate and also covers the unorganised sector and domestic workers.