BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government has directed all departments, revenue divisional commissioners, district collectors and urban local bodies to strictly comply with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, commonly known as the POSH Act.
Coming in the wake of the self-immolation by a girl student of FM (Autonomus) College, the measure aims to ensure a safe, respectful and inclusive environment for women at workplaces and educational institutions.
“It has been observed that in many organisations, the implementation of POSH Act 2013 is not adequate. An important step in this direction is creating awareness amongst all personnel in workplaces and students. It is imperative that sensitivity and knowledge about this Act is generated not only among girls and women but also among boys and men,” said an order issued by the Women and Child Development department.
The department has also issued a draft do’s and don’ts in IEC board on sexual harassment of women at the workplace for display at prominent locations of government offices and campuses of educational institutions. “It is requested to kindly display the same at multiple conspicuous places in the workplace/school/college/institution,” the order said.
The W&CD department further directed authorities concerned to ensure that all internal committees (ICs) are onboarded onto the SHe-Box (sexual harassment electronic box) portal where details are registered. The portal provides a single window to women working in organised or unorganised, private or public sectors to raise complaint related to sexual harassment at workplaces.
Once a complaint is registered in the SHe-Box, it will be directly sent to the authority concerned having jurisdiction to take action in the matter, sources in the department said.
The objective of the POSH Act is not only to implement an effective grievance redressal mechanism, but also to create a system wherein women feel secure and confident to file their complaints of sexual harassment at the workplace. Confidentiality has been a critical element, but has often been overlooked especially at the time of litigation, the sources added.