Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

HARASSMENT POLICIES IN INDIA

Made By:- Sona Khurana & Harneet Kaur

 WHAT IS HARASSMENT?

Harassment means treating someone in a way that harms their dignity or their

psychological or physical health. Harassment can take the form of insulting,
derogatory, hostile, or unwanted words or behavior.
TYPES OF HARASSMENT POSSIBLE AREAS OF HARASSMENT

1. Sexual Harassment 1. Workplace

2. Physical Harassment 2. Educational Institutes
3. Verbal Harassment 3. Sexual Assault in Bollywood
4. Written Harassment 4. Customer Harassment
5. Discriminatory Harassment
Harassment at Workplace

Is defined as "engaging in a course of

vexatious comment or conduct against a
worker in a workplace that is known or
ought reasonably to be known to be
unwelcome" and/or repeated words or
actions that are known or should be known
to be offensive, embarrassing, humiliating
or demeaning to a worker or group of
workers. It can also include behavior that
intimidates, isolates, or even discriminates
against a worker or group of workers in the
workplace that are unwelcome.
Policies To Prevent Harassment At Workplace
All employers, who are subject to the OHSA( Occupational Health and
Safety Act ), must prepare policies with respect to workplace violence
and workplace harassment and review them at least once a year. In a
workplace where there are six or more regularly employed workers,
the policies are required to be in writing and posted in the workplace
where workers are likely to see them; policies such as:

Prevention of Sexual Harassment (PoSH)

This act of India mandates every organization to define its sexual
harassment policies, prevention systems, procedures, and service
rules for its employees. This policy is applicable to all the members of
 ICC (Internal Complaint Committee)

Every company in which there are 10 or more employees must have ICC and all the complaints regarding sexual
harassment are dealt with by the committee. The ICC should comprise 4 members among them half of the members
will necessarily have to be women.
Four members of ICC:
1. A presiding officer, the woman working at a senior level in the office
2. Any member who is committed to the cause of women
3. Any member of the company who has legal knowledge and experience in social work
4. Any external member for example NGOs, any person familiar with issues related to sexual harassment.

The complaint is needed to be lodged within 3 months from the date of the incident along with any documentary
evidence or names of witnesses if available. The complaint shall be in any form whether through phone or email but
every oral communication should be followed up with the written communication and in any case where a
complaint cannot be made in writing then the presiding officer or any member of the committee shall assist the
PROCEDURE FOR DEALING WITH COMPLAINTS

After the inquiry, if the person who committed such an

act is found guilty then the following Corrective
actions are taken by the appropriate authority:
# Formal apology
# Transfer of the person to another department
# Suspension or termination of services of the
employee found guilty of such an offense
# Counseling
# A written warning to the concerned employee and a
copy of it is maintained in his record.
 Harassment at Educational Institutes
Sexual harassment may be carried out by
administrators, trustees, educators, school
staff, students, third-party service
providers, visitors and others. Sexual
harassment will further contravene the
Code which results in a poisoned
environment for students or school staff.
The scope of “educational services”
includes primary, secondary, and post-
secondary education, as well as co-
instructional activities such as school-
related sports, arts, and cultural activities,
school functions, field trips, and tutoring.
For this purpose, sexual harassment
includes such unwelcome sexually 
determined  behavior (whether directly
or by implication) as:
1.Physical contact and advances;
2.A demand or request for sexual favors;
3.Sexually colored remarks;
4.Showing pornography;
5.Any other unwelcome physical, verbal or
non-verbal conduct of sexual nature
 The Supreme Court of India, in August 1997 stated that every
Policies adopted at instance of sexual harassment is a violation of “Fundamental
Rights” and amounts to a violation of the “Right to Freedom”.
the Educational Another Supreme Court Judgment in January 1999 stated that
Institutes sexually harassing behavior “needs to be eliminated as there is no
compromise on such violations”. The Supreme Court further
reiterated that sexual harassment “is a violation of the
fundamental right to gender equality and the right to life and
liberty”.
Based on these, the University, to which the college is affiliated,
made it mandatory for the affiliated and constituent colleges to
adhere to the following from the year 2002:
1. An anti-sexual harassment cell to be made functional with at
least two senior women faculty on the committee
2. An anti-sexual harassment policy to be adopted and
publicized
3. An affidavit to be submitted by each college declaring that
such a policy is adopted and the anti-sexual harassment cell is
operative.
 OBJECTIVES OF THE POLICY

1. To fulfill the directive of the Supreme Court, the sexual harassment of women at workplace Act 2013, and the
Bengaluru City University in respect of implementing a policy against sexual harassment in the institution.
2. To evolve a mechanism for the prevention and redressal of sexual harassment cases and other acts of gender-
based violence in the institution.
3. To ensure the implementation of the policy in letter and spirit through proper reporting of the complaints
and their follow-up procedures.
4. To provide an environment free of gender-based discrimination.
5. To ensure equal access to all facilities and participation in activities of the college.
6. To create a secure physical and social environment that will deter acts of sexual harassment.

To promote a social and psychological environment that will raise awareness about sexual harassment in its
various forms.
 SEXUAL ASSUALT IN BOLLYWOOD

Bollywood has played a major role in

normalizing stalking and promoting gender-
based violence as love and continues to do
so even today. Bollywood actresses who
have been victims of sexual abuse: Around
88 rape cases are being reported in India
every day. Bollywood has a huge role to
play in sidelining sexual harassment at
workplaces and trivializing the experience
of the women facing it.
 How Can Bollywood Handle Complaints Of Sexual
Harassment More Effectively?

The stories surfacing under the #MeToo movement are testimony to the fact that sexual
harassment has been prevalent but concealed behind the silver screen’s curtain.
The ‘#MeToo’ movement gained momentum in the entertainment industry after
Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was accused of sexual misconduct by over 70
women, in 2017. In September 2018, the movement traversed its way into Bollywood
after Tanushree Dutta’s accusation of sexual harassment against Nana Patekar, during
the shooting of a movie in 2008. This incident triggered the #MeToo movement in
Bollywood and has resulted in a number of sexual harassment allegations against
renowned personalities in the Indian movie industry. However, Nana Patekar was given
the ‘clean chit’ by police authorities investigating the case, in 2019.
 The ministry defines “customer harassment” as conspicuously
CUSTOMER disruptive behavior such as violence or malicious complaints
from customers or business partners.
HARASSMENT
POLICIES TO PROTECT AGAINST CUSTOMER HARASSMENT:
1. Consumer Protection Act is one of the main laws that
provide protection to consumers in India. The Act was
introduced in the year 1986 and then amended in the year
2002 through the Consumer Protection Amendment Act,
2002. The main objective of the Consumer Protection Act is
to provide better protection of consumers and establish a
strong mechanism for the settlement of consumer disputes.
2. Third-party Harassment Policy aims to address employee
harassment coming from people outside of the company. The
company won’t tolerate this kind of behavior, even if it means
having awkward conversations with partners or losing
business. In this policy, the company indicates how to
recognize harassment and how to report incidents. They also
explain how we investigate claims and protect victims.
 HARASSMENT ELEMENTS:
SCOPE:
Harassment is any kind of behavior that humiliates,
This policy applies to everyone outside our
victimizes, or threatens a person, like directing racial
company including vendors, investors,
slurs and making sexual advances. Companies
customers, contractors, shareholders, and any
describe rules for dealing with these behaviors.
other people they are connected to or do
business with. 1. Harassment From Customers
Companies aim to protect every employee, 2. Harassment From Prospective Customers
intern or volunteer regardless of level, function, 3. Harassment From vendors And Contractors
seniority, status or protected characteristics like
race, gender, and sexual orientation. 4. Involving The Police
5. Manager’s Responsibilities
6. HR Responsibilities
7. Helping Harassment Survivors
 CONCLUSION
We all work best in
environments where we
feel safe and happy. We
can’t control the behavior
of people outside of the
organization, but we can
act to stop it. Harassment
Policies are one solution to
this problem.
 REFERENCES

https://www.clearias.com/posh-act/
https://www.ontario.ca/document/guide-occupational-health-and-safety-act/part-iii0i-workplace-violence-and-workplace-harassment
https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-775-posh-prevention-of-sexual-harassment-policy-for-companies-.html
https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/policy-preventing-sexual-and-gender-based-harassment/9-human-rights-protection-against-sexual-
harassment-0
https://vijayacollege.ac.in/policy-on-sexual-harassment/
https://feminisminindia.com/2021/11/25/harassment-in-films-bollywoods-constant-normalisation-of-toxicity-as-love/
https://odishabytes.com/bollywood-actresses-who-have-been-victims-of-sexual-abuse/
https://feminisminindia.com/2020/04/09/bollywood-handle-complaints-sexual-harassment-effectively/
https://feminisminindia.com/2017/12/15/bollywood-sexual-harassment-at-workplaces/
https://resources.workable.com/third-party-harassment-policy
https://www.indiafilings.com/learn/consumer-protection-laws-in-india/#:~:text=Consumer%20Protection%20Act%20is%20one,the
%20consumers%20through%20the%20Act.