Indian government tackles sexual harassment at work

For the past three years, Archana Pandey, a senior manager at a private firm, has been fighting a lone battle in the courts after bringing sexual harassment charges against her former boss in a UN agency.

She has continued to press her case in the Indian courts and also filed an appeal within the UN system.

Although an independent UN investigation failed to corroborate her claims, a parallel investigation by the Indian government's Women and Child Development Ministry did find evidence of sexual harassment.

Pandey has accused the organization of a cover-up and maintains she was sacked after going public.

"My case was different from other agencies or other workplaces because I was working in a UN organization, which actually enjoys diplomatic immunity," Pandey explains.

"I came to know of the legal provisions and there was nothing particular on sexual harassment. But even if they had had some, UN agencies would have been exempted from that law."

Mandatory guidelines for employers

While there do exist mandatory guidelines in India for the resolution and prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace, which hold employers responsible for providing a safe working environment for women, the issue remains one of burning significance for most female employees.

Recent figures released by the National Commission for Women (NCW) revealed that Delhi and the state of Uttar Pradesh had reported the largest number of cases of women being sexually harassed at work. But reported cases have been rising in other parts of the country too.

High time a law is passed

Criminal lawyer Vrinda Grover, who has handled several harassment cases, says it is high time a law be passed because the guidelines are insufficient, "although they do help deal with sexual harassment."

"There is a draft that has been put together by the NCW, a statutory body, and women's groups. We have been told that this year, Parliament will actually pass the law on sexual harassment in workplaces. We need a law that covers all nature of workplaces, from mines to corporations, to banks and educational institutions."

One important preventive measure that has been adopted by some private firms is a sexual harassment policy expressly prohibiting harassment and providing an effective grievance procedure.

More and more reported cases

Ranjana Narayanan, who works for a media firm, is part of a sexual harassment committee that addresses such grievances.

"More and more cases are being reported and women are coming out and reporting them. Earlier, women would feel embarrassed and not report such cases but now they are voicing their objections. Plus managers are becoming aware and framing rules to keep such incidents at bay."

But Pandey, who stepped out to take her battle to its logical conclusion, still believes that there are many silent sufferers.

"I have seen it happening and mostly women do give up. It starts with a lot of allurement. Sometimes women think they are too feeble to fight with a very powerful man. Instead they gain something out of it. So many just give in and I guess some of them can’t just walk away from their jobs. That’s all because nobody wants social stigma and discrimination in a country like India."

Observers think it will still take some time before mindsets change and a healthy working atmosphere is created.

Author: Murali Krishnan (New Delhi)
Editor: Anne Thomas