SOCIOLOGY PROJECT

Protection of women at workplace with reference to prevention of sexual

harassment of women act, 2013.

SUBMITTED TO SUBMITTED BY

MS. BHARTI SAINI ARJUN SINGH

B.A. LLB

SEMESTER 3

SECTION A

1
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my teacher Ms.
Bharti Saini as well as our principal Dr. Monica Sharma who gave me
the golden opportunity to do this wonderful project on the topic, sexual
harassment of women in India and prevention of sexual harassment of
women in India act 2013. Which also helped me in doing a lot of
Research and i came to know about so many new things I am really
thankful to them. Secondly i would also like to thank my parents and
friends who helped me a lot in finalizing this project within the limited
time frame.

2
 INDEX

1. INTRODUCTION
2. PROTECTION OF WOMEN
3. VISHAKAHA VS STATE OF RAJASTHAN
4. STATUS IN INDIA
5. ACT 2013
6. CONCLUSION

3
INTRODUCTION
Today’s world is accustomed to the term Sexual harassment. Sexual
Harassment can be identified as a behavior. It can in general terms be
defined as an unwelcome behavior of sexual nature. Sexual harassment
at workplace is a universal problem in the world whether it be a
developed nation or a developing nation or an underdeveloped nation,
atrocities and cruelties against women is common everywhere. It is a
problem giving negative effect on both men and women. It is seen to be
happening more with women gender as they are considered to be the
most vulnerable section of the society these days. Sexual harassment
therefore is a serious problem in the workplace and it has become one of
those issues that receive a lot of negative attention.1
What Is Sexual Harassment?
Sexual harassment has been identified as a term which is difficult to
define as it involves a range of behaviors. Efforts have been made at
both national and international levels to define this term effectively.
often, the term is subjected to different interpretations. Some believe that
it is better not to mingle with female colleagues so that one does not get
embroiled in a sexual harassment complaint. The reality of sexual
harassment incidents at the workplace is that there is more to worry
about under-reporting, than people misusing the law.2
In 1997, in the landmark judgment of Vishaka and others v. State of
Rajasthan, the Supreme Court of India defined sexual harassment at the
workplace, pronounced preventive, prohibitory and redress measures,

1
""The Sexual Harassment Bill undermines the innovative spirit of Vishaka" – Naina Kapur, Lawyer and Equality
Consultant". Bar and Bench. 1 March 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
2
"The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 Published in
The Gazette of India". Press Information Bureau. Retrieved 26 April 2013.

4
and gave directives towards a legislative mandate to the guidelines
proposed.

Sexual Harassment includes many things:

1. Actual or attempted rape or sexual assault.
2. Unwanted deliberate touching, leaning over, cornering or pinching.
3. Unwanted sexual teasing, jokes, remarks or questions.
4. Whistling at someone.
5. Kissing sounds, howling and smacking lips.
6. Touching an employee’s clothing, hair or body.
7. Touching or rubbing oneself sexually around another person.

Indian Constitution On Sexual Harassment-

Sexual harassment clearly violates the fundamental rights of a women to
Equality under Article 14 and Article 15, her right to life under Article
21, and her right to practice any profession and carry on any occupation,
trade or business, which includes a Right to safe environment free from
sexual harassment.

IPC on Sexual Harassment-

In 2013, substantial changes were made in the way sexual harassment
was viewed within the criminal justice system in India. The Criminal
Law Amendment Act of 2013, which commenced on April 3, 2013,

5
included Section 354A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 that defined
sexual harassment. The India Penal Code, 1860 has also defined the term
sexual harassment and related offences and put forth punishments for the
same:
· Section 354A- Sexual harassment is: unwelcome physical contact and
advances, including unwanted and explicit sexual overtures, a demand or
request for sexual favors, showing someone sexual images
(pornography) without their consent, and making unwelcome sexual
remarks
Punishment: Up to three years in prison, and a fine.
· Section 354B- Forcing a woman to undress.
Punishment: From three to seven years in prison, and a fine.
· Section 354C- Watching or capturing images of a woman without her
consent (voyeurism).
Punishment: First conviction – one to three years in prison and a fine.
More than conviction–three to seven years in prison and a fine.
· Section 354D- Following a woman and contacting her or trying to
contact her despite her saying she does not want contact. Monitoring a
woman using the internet or any other form of electronic communication
(stalking).
Punishment: First conviction – up to three years in prison and a fine.
More than one conviction–up to five years in prison and a fine.

6
The same definition is given in the law enacted specifically for Sexual
Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention Prohibition and
Redressal) Act 2013.3
Pre- Vishaka Scenario-
Before the Vishaka guidelines came into picture, the women had to take
matter of Sexual Harassment at Workplace through lodging a complaint
under Sec 354 and 509 of IPC.
Sexual Harassment as we know has become a global problem which is a
kind of violence against women. International community has
recognized in their International treaties and documents, the protection
from Sexual Harassment as a human rights of women. All the legal
instruments dealing with this matter have been laid down to protect life
and liberty and these instruments have been used as a means to curb and
address this issue.
In India until the Vishaka’s judgment was given out, there was no law to
govern this matter and the guidelines which came as an outcome of this
case were derived from the Convention on the Elimination of all forms
of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). TheIndian Constitution
had grounded provisions in the form of fundamental rights.
Vishaka And Others V. State of Rajasthan-
In the case of Vishaka and Ors v. State of Rajasthan and Ors, the
Hon’ble Supreme Court has laid down guidelines and norms to be
observed to prevent sexual harassment of working women.

3
Chakrabarty, Rakhi (4 September 2012) "Sexual harassment at workplace Bill passed". Times of India. Retrieved
13 September 2012.

7
PROTECTION OF WOMEN

The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 is an Act of the
Parliament of India enacted to protect women from domestic violence. It was
brought into force by the Indian government from 26 October 2006. The Act
provides for the first time in Indian law a definition of "domestic violence", with
this definition being broad and including not only physical violence, but also other
forms of violence such as emotional/verbal, sexual, and economic abuse. It is a
civil law meant primarily for protection orders and not for meant to be enforced
criminally.4

VISHAKA VS. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

In 1997, the Supreme Court passed a landmark judgment in the same Vishaka case
laying down guidelines to be followed by establishments in dealing with
complaints about sexual harassment. "Vishaka Guidelines" were stipulated by the
Supreme Court of India, in Vishaka and others v State of Rajasthan case in 1997,
regarding sexual harassment at workplace. The court stated that these guidelines
were to be implemented until legislation is passed to deal with the issue. The court
decided that the consideration of "International Conventions and norms are
significant for the purpose of interpretation of the guarantee of gender equality,
right to work with human dignity in Articles 14, 15 19(1)(g) and 21 of the
Constitution and the safeguards against sexual harassment implicit therein."5

Sexual harassment includes such unwelcome sexually determined behavior

(whether directly or by implication) as:

physical contact and advances;

a demand or request for sexual favors;

4
Manoj Mitta, Indian men can be raped, not sexually harassed, Times of India, 16 August 2012.
5
the Hindu Parliament passes Bill to prevent sexual harassment at workplace 26 February 2013

8
sexually colored remarks;

showing pornography;

any other unwelcome physical verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature.

Where any of these acts is committed in circumstances where the victim has a
reasonable apprehension that in relation to the victim’s employment or work
whether she is drawing salary, or honorarium or voluntary, whether in government,
public or private enterprise such conduct can be humiliating and may constitute a
health and safety problem.

It is discriminatory for instance when the woman has reasonable grounds to believe
that her objection would disadvantage her in connection with her employment or
work including recruiting or promotion or when it creates a hostile work
environment. Adverse consequences might be visited if the victim does not consent
to the conduct in question or raises any objection thereto. Thus, sexual harassment
need not involve physical contact. Any act that creates a hostile work environment
- be it by virtue of cracking lewd jokes, verbal abuse, circulating lewd rumours etc.
counts as sexual harassment. The creation of a hostile work environment through
unwelcome physical verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature may consist not
of a single act but of a pattern of behavior comprising many such acts. Thus, it is
important that the victim report such behavior as soon as possible and not wait for
it to become worse. In some cases, the psychological stigma of reporting the
conduct of a co-worker might require a great deal of courage on the part of the
victim and they may report such acts after a long period of time. The guidelines
suggest that the complaint mechanism should ensure time bound treatment of
complaints, but they do not suggest that a report can only be made within a short
period of time since the incident occurred. Often, the police refuse to lodge FIRs
for sexual harassment cases, especially where the harassment occurred sometime
ago.

9
PREVENTIVE STEPS

1. Sexual harassment should be affirmatively discussed at workers' meetings,

employer-employee meetings, etc.
2. Guidelines should be prominently displayed to create awareness about the
rights of female employees.
3. The employer should assist persons affected in cases of sexual harassment
by outsiders.
4. Central and state governments must adopt measures, including legislation, to
ensure that private employers also observe the guidelines.
5. Names and contact numbers of members of the complaints committee must
be prominently displayed.

MAJOR FEATURES

The Act defines sexual harassment at the work place and creates a mechanism for
redressal of complaints. It also provides safeguards against false or malicious
charges.

The Act also covers concepts of 'quid pro quo harassment' and 'hostile work
environment' as forms of sexual harassment if it occurs in connection with an act
or behaviour of sexual harassment.

The definition of "aggrieved woman", who will get protection under the Act is
extremely wide to cover all women, irrespective of her age or employment status,
whether in the organised or unorganised sectors, public or private and covers
clients, customers and domestic workers as well.

An employer has been defined as any person who is responsible for management,
supervision, and control of the workplace and includes persons who formulate and
administer policies of such an organisation under Section 2(g).

While the "workplace" in the Vishaka Guidelines is confined to the traditional

office set-up where there is a clear employer-employee relationship, the Act goes
much further to include organisations, department, office, branch unit etc. in the
10
public and private sector, organized and unorganized, hospitals, nursing homes,
educational institutions, sports institutes, stadiums, sports complex and any place
visited by the employee during the course of employment including the
transportation. Even non-traditional workplaces which involve tele-commuting
will get covered under this law.

The Committee is required to complete the inquiry within a time period of 90 days.
On completion of the inquiry, the report will be sent to the employer or the District
Officer, as the case may be, they are mandated to take action on the report within
60 days.

Every employer is required to constitute an Internal Complaints Committee at each

office or branch with 10 or more employees. The District Officer is required to
constitute a Local Complaints Committee at each district, and if required at the
block level.

The Complaints Committees have the powers of civil courts for gathering
evidence.

The Complaints Committees are required to provide for conciliation before

initiating an inquiry, if requested by the complainant.

The inquiry process under the Act should be confidential and the Act lays down a
penalty of Rs 5000 on the person who has breached confidentiality.

The Act requires employers to conduct education and sensitisation programmes

and develop policies against sexual harassment, among other obligations.

Penalties have been prescribed for employers. Non-compliance with the provisions
of the Act shall be punishable with a fine of up to ₹ 50,000. Repeated violations
may lead to higher penalties and cancellation of licence or deregistration to
conduct business.

Government can order an officer to inspect workplace and records related to sexual
harassment in any organisation.

Under the Act, which also covers students in schools and colleges as well as
patients in hospitals, employers and local authorities will have to set up grievance

11
committees to investigate all complaints. Employers who fail to comply will be
punished with a fine of up to 50,000 rupees.

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and

Redressal) Act, 2013 is a legislative act in India that seeks to protect women from
sexual harassment at their place of work. It was passed by the Lok Sabha (the
lower house of the Indian Parliament) on 3 September 2012. It was passed by the
Rajya Sabha (the upper house of the Indian Parliament) on 26 February 2013. The
Bill got the assent of the President on 23 April 2013. The Act came into force from
9 December 2013. This statute superseded the Vishakha Guidelines for prevention
of sexual harassment introduced by the Supreme Court of India. It was reported by
the International Labour Organization that very few Indian employers were
compliant to this statute [failed verification]Most Indian employers have not
implemented the law despite the legal requirement that any workplace with more
than 10 employees need to implement it. According to a FICCI-EY November
2015 report, 36% of Indian companies and 25% among MNCs are not compliant
with the Sexual Harassment Act, 2013.The government has threatened to take stern
action against employers who fail to comply with this law. The Act uses a
definition of sexual harassment which was laid down by the Supreme Court of
India in Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan (1997). Article 19 (1) g of the Indian
Constitution affirms the right of all citizens to be employed in any profession of
their choosing or to practice their own trade or business. Vishaka v. State of
Rajasthan established that actions resulting in a violation of one's rights to ‘Gender
Equality’ and ‘Life and Liberty’ are in fact a violation of the victim’s fundamental
right under Article 19 (1) g. The case ruling establishes that sexual harassment
violates a woman's rights in the workplace and is thus not just a matter of personal
injury. This case ruling had issued Vishaka guidelines under Article 32 of the
Constitution of India. The Supreme Court had made it mandatory that these had to
be followed by all originations until a legislative framework on the subject has
been drawn-up and enacted. However, the legislative void continued and the
Supreme Court in Apparel Export Promotion Council v. A.K Chopra ((1999) 1
SCC 759) reiterated the law laid down in the Vishaka Judgment. Dr. Medha
Kotwal of Aalochana (an NGO) highlighted a number of individual cases of sexual
harassment stating that the Vishaka Guidelines were not being effectively
implemented. Converting the letter into a writ petition, the Supreme Court took

12
cognizance and undertook monitoring of implementation of the Vishaka
Guidelines across the country. The Supreme Court asserted that in case of a non-
compliance or non-adherence of the Vishaka Guidelines, it would be open to the
aggrieved persons to approach the respective High Courts.

The legislative progress of the Act has been a lengthy one. The Bill was first
introduced by women and child development minister Krishna Tirath in 2007 and
approved by the Union Cabinet in January 2010. It was tabled in the Lok Sabha in
December 2010 and referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human
Resources Development. The committee's report was published on 30 November
2011. In May 2012, the Union Cabinet approved an amendment to include
domestic workers. The amended Bill was finally passed by the Lok Sabha on 3
September 2012. The Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of the
Indian Parliament) on 26 February 2013. It received the assent of the President of
India and was published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part-II, Section-1,
dated 23 April 2013 as Act No. 14 of 2013.

CRITICISM

Brinda Karat, serving in the Rajya Sabha as a Communist Party of India (Marxist)
member for West Bengal, initially complained that the Bill does not cover women
in the armed forces and excludes women agricultural workers, "a gross injustice to
agricultural workers who are the single largest female component of work force in
the country." However, the final bill includes the clause "No woman shall be
subjected to sexual harassment at any workplace" (clause 3.1), and is considered to
have addressed those concerns. In the May 2012 draft Bill, the burden of proof is
on the women who complain of harassment. If found guilty of making a false
complaint or giving false evidence, she could be prosecuted, which has raised
concerns about women being even more afraid of reporting offences. Before seeing
the final version of the bill, lawyer and activist Vrinda Grover said, "I hope the Bill
does not have provisions for penalizing the complainant for false complaints6. This
6
"The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 Published in
The Gazette of India". Press Information Bureau. Retrieved 26 April 2013.

13
is the most under-reported crime. Such provision will deter a woman to come
forward and complain."Zakia Soman, a women's rights campaigner at ActionAid
India said that "it helps to have a law and we welcome it, but the crux will lie in its
implementation once it is enacted."

Manoj Mitta of The Times of India complained that Bill does not protect men,
saying it "is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be
safeguarded."Nishith Desai Associates, a law group, wrote a detailed analysis that
included concerns about the role of the employer in sexual harassment cases. They
called out the fact that there is no stipulated liability for employers in cases of
employee-to-employee harassment, something upheld in many other countries.
They also viewed the provision that employers are obligated to address grievances
in a timely manner at the workplace as problematic because of potentially
uncooperative employees. Furthermore, the law requires a third-party non-
governmental organisation to be involved, which could make employers less
comfortable in reporting grievances, due to confidentiality concerns.

Compliance to this statute has so far been left to the vagaries of the employers and
government has not taken any significant step to enforce the law so far. For
example, 6 months after the law came into effect, the state in UP remained
dreadful as women could not participate in the workforce due to sexual
harassment. Some tribunals have commented on the constitutionality of some of
the provisions of the statute, especially section 4 and Section 7.

STATUS IN INDIA

Domestic violence in India includes any form of violence suffered by a person

from a biological relative, but typically is the violence suffered by a woman by
male members of her family or relatives. According to a National Family and
Health Survey in 2005, total lifetime prevalence of domestic violence was 33.5%
and 8.5% for sexual violence among women aged 15–49. A 2014 study in The
Lancet reports that although the reported sexual violence rate in India is among the

14
lowest in the world, the large population of India means that the violence affects
27.5 million women over their lifetimes. However, A survey carried out by the
Thomson Reuters Foundation ranked India as the most dangerous country in the
world for women.7

The 2012 National Crime Records Bureau report of India states a reported crime
rate of 46 per 100,000, rape rate of 2 per 100,000, dowry homicide rate of 0.7 per
100,000 and the rate of domestic cruelty by husband or his relatives as 5.9 per
100,000. These reported rates are significantly smaller than the reported intimate
partner domestic violence rates in many countries, such as the United States (590
per 100,000) and reported homicide (6.2 per 100,000 globally), crime and rape
incidence rates per 100,000 women for most nations tracked by the United
Nations. There are several domestic violence laws in India. The earliest law was
the Dowry Prohibition Act 1961 which made the act of giving and receiving dowry
a crime. In an effort to bolster the 1961 law, two new sections, Section 498A and
Section 304B were introduced into the Indian Penal Code in 1983 and 1986. The
most recent legislation is the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act
(PWDVA) 2005. The PWDVA, a civil law, includes physical, emotional, sexual,
verbal, and economic abuse as domestic violence.8

Domestic violence is currently defined in India by the Protection of Women from

Domestic Violence Act of 2005. According to Section 3 of the Act, “any act,
omission or commission or conduct of the respondent shall constitute domestic
violence in case it:

harms or injures or endangers the health, safety, life, limb or well-being, whether
mental or physical, of the aggrieved person or tends to do so and includes causing
physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal and emotional abuse and economic abuse; or

harasses, harms, injures or endangers the aggrieved person with a view to coerce
her or any other person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any dowry
or other property or valuable security; or

7
"Law against sexual harassment at workplace comes into effect". Times of India. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
8
"The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013" (PDF). PRS
Legislative Research. Retrieved 26 April 2013.

15
has the effect of threatening the aggrieved person or any person related to her by
any conduct mentioned in clause (a) or clause (b); or

otherwise injures or causes harm, whether physical or mental, to the aggrieved

person.”

CONCLUSION

Despite decades of attention, legal action, and advocacy, this analysis of data,
research, and experience shows that sexual harassment remains a serious and
pervasive problem across virtually all industry sectors and workplaces. We found
that no sector remains untouched by sexual harassment, nor unaffected by its
impacts: Sexual harassment damages the lives, health, financial independence, and
opportunities of countless victims, and costs businesses not only in legal fees, but
in lost productivity, morale, effectiveness, and talent.

Sexual harassment is about the interplay of power and gender present in every
sector of the economy at virtually every level. While the data clearly shows that
across all sectors, women of lower status are the most common targets of sexual
harassment by perpetrators who are typically men of higher status, sexual
harassment is by no means limited to this dynamic. Men, particularly those who
don’t conform to traditional masculine norms, and others seen as outsiders, like
LGBTQ and gender nonconforming people, are often targets and women can be
harassers. A sexually harassing culture can become so normalized that no one
recognizes it, or doesn’t object to it for fear of being labeled a troublemaker and
losing employment or status in the workplace. And harassment can come sideways,
from co-workers, or from third parties like clients, customers, or patients.

Factors that Drive Sexual Harassment

We found that workers across industries experience many forms of harassment:

some experience sexual harassment that would rise to the legal standard of either
quid pro quo harassment, or harassment that is so severe and pervasive that it
constitutes a hostile work environment that negatively impacts one’s work. Many
also commonly experience gender harassment, which is generally not about sexual
attraction or sexuality at all, and may not rise to the standard required to file a legal
complaint. Nevertheless, gender harassment can powerfully shape individual

16
experience, workplace cultures and block women’s and other targets’ access to
opportunity and advancement, perpetuating traditionally masculine power
structures. Gender-harassing physical, verbal, and symbolic behaviors insult and
degrade a target’s gender in an effort to assert power, control behavior, or force
those who don’t conform out of a particular job or out of the profession entirely.

The analysis clearly shows that sexual harassment is driven across all sectors by
power and gender imbalances, as well as the often unconscious assumptions that
are deeply rooted in stereotypes about gender roles. These stereotypes often shape
our beliefs around who belongs where and who should do what in our society. We
found that some factors that drive sexual harassment are present in various forms
across all industries, including gendered power imbalances and vertical
segregation, racial inequality, legal status, isolation, retaliation, and reporting
systems that don’t work well.

17