CHENNAI: There is a responsibility on the part of every organisation to ensure that women who work for them have a safe environment free of sexual harassment, said Letika Saran, a former Director-General of Police, on Saturday.
She was speaking at a one-day seminar on Prevention of Sexual Harassment (PSH) Act, conducted by Madras Management Association (MMA) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
“Women who face harassment at workplace should have a stable mechanism through which they seek redressal,” she said adding that aggressors should be held accountable when a complaint is levelled against them.
Recalling an incident when a Superintendent of Police had eliminated a few “good looking” female candidates during recruitment when she was new to the field, she said harassment and teasing were looked at as a joke and was considered as harmless when she was younger.
“In my 33 years of experience, I realised repeatedly that teasing is never harmless. Harassment is not a joke, it is a crime and should be treated like one,” she said.
P Murari, a former Secretary to the President and adviser to FICCI said sexual harassment at workplaces has reached epidemic proportions.
“Women, both from the domestic work sector and multinational giants face harassment. We know the magnitude of the problem,” he said.
Sudha Ramalingam, an advocate, said that women who raise a sexual harassment complaint is often viewed as one that causes nuisance by corporations. “Even if organisations act on complaints, they often simply urge the offender to resign without officially addressing the harassment,” she said adding that this leaves the victim to deal with the stigma of making a fuss against a co-worker.
“Corporations often do this because they think that reporting an incident of sexual harassment leaves a black mark on the company,” she said.
Geetha Ramaseshan, a senior advocate, said sexual harassment complaints at workplaces is very complex in nature and companies should proactively address these issues and be aware of their responsibility when a complaint is given. Malini Saravanan, Deputy general manager of The New Indian Express, spoke on the challenges faced by companies in connection with PSH Act.