SEXUAL

HARASSMENT AT
WORKPLACE
AN INVISIBLE STRUGGLE
TKM Legal Department
WHAT IS HARASSMENT?
• Harassment is a form of offensive treatment or
behavior, which to a reasonable person creates an
intimidating, hostile or abusive work environment.
It may be sexual, racial based on gender, national
origin, age, disability, religion or a person’s sexual
orientation.
• Like hostile, intimidating, threatening, humiliating
or violent behavior,
 Types of Harassment:-
• Verbal
• Physical
• Non-verbal

Question:- How do you identity or

categorize an Harassment???

Vishaka Vs The State of Rajasthan

 IDENTIFYING CONDUCT AMOUNTING TO
SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT THE WORKPLACE
CONDUCT OF A SEXUAL NATURE
 Physical contact or advances.
 Creating scenes in public.
 Cornering, trapping or blocking a person’s pathway.
 Forcing one to smoke.
 Excessively lengthy handshakes.
 Leering or staring at another’s body and/or sexually suggestive gesturing.
 Asking a woman to dress in a particular way.
 Sitting in an obscene manner etc.
 Verbal Harassment
• Asking for or demanding
sexual favors.
• Making comments with
sexual overtones etc.
• Talking to woman employee
about the wife.
• Commenting on personal
appearance especially about
parts or the body
• Insulting publicly, saying
something demeaning,
humiliating.
• Making obscene remarks
jokes etc.
• Linking up with top bosses,
‘male bonding’ gossiping
about women staff.
• Teasing and using names
such as “Darling, Honey,
Sweetheart” etc
• Discussing marriage, fertility
and other personal issues.
• Asking personal questions
about abortion, etc upon
submission of medical bills.
• Making sexist remarks,
misogynist humour.
 DISCRIMINATION AMOUNTING TO
SEXUAL HARASSMENT
• Disallowing women to come up to above a particular grade.
• Failing to provide rest rooms, ladies toilets and day care
centers.
• Trying to unnecessarily find fault with work.
• Not a friendly work environment for women.
• Asking unwarranted questions when women want to take
leave.
• Gender stereotyping
• Refusing to take complaints seriously.
• Giving extra work simply because the employee is a woman.
 REASONS FOR LOW REPORTING OF
SEXUAL HARASSMENT
• Family pressures • Lack of increments
• Fear of publicity, • Litigation by
defamation and abuser alleging
stigmatization. defamation
• Fear of revenge by • Aggravated
the abuser harassment.
• Fear of losing job • Ostracism and
opportunities isolation.
 Illustrations:-
a) X an employee of a company, avoids sexual advances from her
immediate superior at work. At a result, she is given
disproportion amounts of work and is ultimately by-passed by
her junior male colleague for promotion.
This violates her right to equal opportunity in
employment and violates her right to be treated on par
with male colleague. (Articles 14, 15, & 16)
b) Women working in a state corporation are told to leave work by
5.30 pm coz of the unsafe working environment after dark Men
may however, work as late as they wish.
This is a violation of the right to non-discrimination based on sex.
This amounts to a failure by the employer to provide measures for
the protection of women and failure to implement the Vishaka
guidelines.
 Guidelines
• It is the duty of the employer or other responsible persons in the
work places or other institutions
 to prevent sexual harassment, and
 to provide mechanisms for resolution of complaints.
All women who draw a regular salary, receive an
honorarium, or wok in a voluntary capacity in
the government, private sector or unorganized
sector come under the purview of these guidelines.
It should have appropriate complaints mechanism, The complaints
committee must be headed by a woman and not less than half
its members should be women.
 PREVENTIVE STEPS
• Sexual harassment should
be affirmatively discussed at
workers’ meetings,
employer employee
meetings, etc.
• Guidelines should be
prominently displayed to
create awareness of the
rights of female employees
• The employer should assist
persons affected in cases of
sexual harassment by
outsiders.
• Central and state
governments must adopt
measures including
legislation to ensure that
private employers also
observe guidelines.
• Names and contact numbers
of members of the
complaint committee must
be prominently displayed.
 Employers’ Responsibilities
• Recognize sexual harassment as a
serious offence.
• Recognize the responsibility of
the company/ factory/workplace
to prevent and deal with sexual
harassment at the workplace
• Recognize the liability of the
company etc. for sexual
harassment by the employees or
management. Employers are not
necessarily insulated from that
liability because they were not
aware of sexual harassment by the
staff.
• Formulate an anti-sexual
harassment policy. This should
include
• A clear statement of the
employer’s commitment to a
workplace free of unlawful
discrimination and harassment
• Clear definition of sexual
harassment (using examples), and
prohibition of such behavior as an
offence.
• Publish the policy and make
copies available at the workplace.
Discuss the policy with all new
recruits and existing employees.
THANK YOU!