The recent allegation of sexual harassment against director-general of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) R K Pachauri has revived the debate about protection of women at their workplaces. That it took nearly two decades and an incident like the gang rape and murder of Nirbhaya for India Inc. to actually promulgate the Vishakha guidelines into an Act shows how lax the government had been in tackling a widespread crime that violates the sanctity of a human being.
When the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act was notified in 2013, it evoked a mixed response, some considered it as a game-changer and some as a mere extension of the Vishakha guidelines issued by the Supreme Court in 1997. Alas, many even viewed it as a threat to corporate culture. Considering the stringent regulations and wide definition of an “act of sexual harassment”, it was feared that employers may not feel comfortable in appointing women staff any longer. However, the discussion did not last long.
Except for the constitution of internal complaints committees, that too in a very few organisations, and announcements of a sexual harassment policy by some organisations, nothing much has happened. The committees set up by most organisations do not have independent women, committed to women’s cause, as members. Compliance is being ensured merely for the sake of having a policy on papers, to avoid penalties the law intends to impose. Most organisations are not even willing to sensitise their employees. More awareness, they think, may increase the number of complaints, something which may endanger their brand value.
Needless to say, the Act is a mere paper tiger, a silent spectator to atrocities being faced by numerous women, like their colleagues, who choose not to raise a voice to safeguard their own interests. The Act may not have succeeded in achieving its purpose of providing a healthy and safe working environment to women but has given a new line of business to a many agencies, who claim to provide expert opinion to complex problems faced by the HR departments in the formulation of sexual harassment policy, formation of an independent committee and its functioning.
If a report is to be believed, this industry possesses a huge potential of growth. Afraid of dire consequences, a tarred reputation and a consequent financial loss, organisations go for preventive measures, not necessarily focussed on providing a woman-friendly environment. While this largely is the case of organisations with huge net worth and resources, small and medium organisations are clueless about the law itself.
The enormity of the problem is evident from the way corporate giants are scared of the public outcry such cases may create. Yet, there has been a rise in sexual harassment complaints registered with the National Commission of Women. The latest report reveals the commission has received 336 complaints till December 2014, compared to 249 in 2013, 167 in 2012 and 170 in 2011.
A workplace sexual harassment survey by the Centre for Transforming India revealed around 88 per cent of women working in IT and BPO sectors suffered from sexual harassment at some point of time. While 50 per cent were harassed physically or with sexually abusive language, around 47 per cent of the women employees did not know how to deal with it and 91 per cent of the victims were afraid of discussing their problems, forget reporting to higher authorities.
Another survey by two NGOs revealed that the fourth estate was no exception. Media, which reports crime on a daily basis, has failed to address issues affecting the industry. It was found that around 50 per cent of the media houses do not have sexual harassment committees. In fact, most media organisations formed committees only when a case or a complaint cropped up. The surveys show even if there were complaints, they were never taken up and every effort was made to suppress or close the matter without further discussion. Worse, victims were often forced to leave their job or their services were terminated as a consequence of raising their voice. Though the Act provides for penalties and punishment, its implementation and monitoring are a major hurdle. The sexual harassment committee is useless when the main culprit is the one who actually runs the organisation.
However, the issue is not unique to India. Unlike countries like the US, where victims open up with the problems they face in offices, Indian women prefer to keep it to themselves for fear of victimisation. Another major difference is in the acceptability of the issue. The West has not only accepted it but has also geared up for facing it head-on. The US views it from a wider perspective of violation of equality and civil rights.
In India, most organisations adopt the denial mode at the very first instance. A problem can never be solved unless those entrusted with the responsibility of mitigating it accept it with a right attitude. The denial model invariably percolates into an ineffective and good-for-nothing redressal system, neither capable of winning the confidence of the victim nor providing justice. In such circumstances, it isn’t a surprise to see a victim registering a complaint months after the crime is committed. It becomes equally hard to prove and produce evidence. The victim in the present case took 15 months to register her complaint. Such a system mirrors the general attitude of the people towards sexual harassment at workplaces. A strong public opinion against the issue shall help strengthen the system. The Act provides freedom to every organisation to formulate an effective redressal system, best suited to them, as management processes vary among organisations. Instead of making the system work for themselves, most organisations avoid even speaking on such a sensitive matter.
However, unlike the US, where a centralised enforcement agency is appointed to monitor the implementation of law, India does not have any such agency. The internal complaints committee (ICC), however powerful it may seem, can easily be manipulated by those who consider an organisation their personal fiefdom.
The government must realise that promulgating a law, formation of ICC and entrusting it with powers of judicial nature alone is not the end but only a means for arriving at a solution. It is necessary to have an efficient enforcement agency to monitor its implementation. The employers should be sensitised to devise an effective redressal system that is more important than any individual. After all, a harassment-free working environment is a woman’s right.
The writer is a company secretary and director, communications, Deepalaya. Email: jassi.rai@gmail.com