Institutions for redressing sexual harassment
The Supreme Court of India in its 1997
judgment in Vishakha and others vs. State of Rajasthan and others makes it
obligatory for every employer and other responsible persons to follow the
guidelines laid down by the Court and to evolve a specific policy to combat
sexual harassment in the workplace. Educational institutions are bound by the
same directive.
The right of women to protection from
sexual harassment and the right to work with dignity are recognized as
universal human rights by international instruments such as the Convention on
the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which has
been ratified by India. The Supreme Court in the Vishakha judgment has held
that each incident of sexual harassment results in the violation of the
fundamental rights of Gender Equality and the Right to Life and Liberty. Sexual
harassment is a clear violation of woman’s right to gender equality as
guaranteed under Articles 14 and 15, her right to live with dignity under Article
21 and her right to work with dignity in a safe environment under Article 19
(1) (g) of the Constitution of India
landmark judgment, Vishaka vs. State of
Rajasthan (1997)4 , the Supreme Court of India created legally binding
guidelines basing it on the right to equality and dignity accorded under the
Indian Constitution as well as by the UN Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). It included:
·
A
definition of sexual harassment
·
Shifting
accountability from individuals to institutions
·
Prioritizing
prevention
·
Provision
of an innovative redress mechanism
·
Complaints
Committee/s
The Act provides for two kinds of
complaints mechanisms:
·
Internal
Complaints Committee (ICC)
·
Local
Complaints Committee (LCC).
All Complaints Committees must have 50
per cent representation of women.
1)
Internal
Complaints Committee (ICC)
Every employer is obliged
to constitute an ICC through a written order. The ICC will be composed of the
following members:
1. Chairperson Women working at senior level
as employee; if not available then nominated from other office/units/
department/ workplace of the same employer
2 Members (minimum) From amongst
employees committed to the cause of women/ having legal knowledge/experience in
social work
3. Member From amongst NGO/associations
committed to the cause of women or a person familiar with the issue of Sexual
Harassment
2) Local Complaints
Committee (LCC)
The District Officer will constitute an
LCC in every district so as to enable women in the unorganised sector or small
establishments to work in an environment free of sexual harassment.
The LCC will receive complaints:
1. From women working in an organisation
having less than 10 workers;
2. When the complaint is against the
employer himself;
3. From domestic workers.
1. Chairperson
Nominated from amongst the eminent women in
the field of social work and committed to the cause of women
2. Member Nominated from amongst the
women working in the block, taluka or tehsil or ward or municipality in the
district
3 Members Nominated from amongst such
NGO/associations/persons committed to the cause of women or familiar with the
issues relating to sexual harassment, provided that: • At least one must be a
woman • At least one must have a background of law or legal knowledge
4. Ex Officio member the concerned
officer dealing with social welfare or women and child development in the
district
5) External Members on the Complaints
Committee/s The Act refers to external members, which generally means persons
who have expertise with the issue of sexual harassment.
OBJECTIVES OF THE POLICY
·
To fulfill
the directive of the Supreme Court of India enjoining all employers /Students
·
To develop
and implement a policy against sexual harassment of women at the work place.
·
To uphold
Women's Right to Protection against Sexual Harassment and the Right to
Livelihood and towards that end for the prevention and redressal of Sexual
Harassment of Women.
·
To evolve a
permanent mechanism for the prevention, prohibition and redress of sexual
harassment of women at workplace.
·
To actively
promote a social, physical and psychological environment that will raise
awareness about and deter acts of sexual harassment of girls and women.
·
To ensure
the implementation of the policy in letter and spirit by undertaking all
necessary and reasonable steps including the constitution of appropriate
Committees for purposes of gender sensitization and to conduct enquiries into
complaints of sexual harassment.
·
To uphold
the commitment to provide an environment free of discrimination and violence
against women.
·
To generate
public opinion against sexual harassment of women at the workplace.
SCOPE OF THE POLICY AND
RULES AND PROCEDURES
Jurisdiction
These Rules and Procedures shall be
applicable to all complaints of sexual harassment made by a woman against a man
only by a woman member and its
constituent units against any male member of
and its constituent units provided the harassment has taken place at
work place. Responsibilities of its
constituent units
(a) Ensure a safe environment free from Sexual
Harassment for women including prevention and deterrence of Sexual Harassment.
(b) Prepare and prominently display the
policy for the prevention and prohibition of Sexual Harassment. (c) Maintain a
proactive program to educate all members as to the definition of sexual
harassment and procedures for redressal.
(d) Undertake workshops and training
programmes at regular intervals for sensitizing the members.
(e) Prominently display notices in
various places spreading awareness about the issue of “Sexual Harassment at the
Workplace” and giving information for the redressal mechanism that has been put
in place and encouraging women to file their grievances.
(f) Facilitate initiation of proceedings under
this Policy through the institution of Committee Against Sexual Harassment for
redressal of an act/s of sexual harassment.
The Complaints Mechanism and the Scope of its
Functions Guiding Principles for Constitution of Committees
I This will ensure that the complaint
mechanism is effective and accessible for all. Accordingly separate Committees
Against Sexual Harassment have been provided for at different levels which will
function as Complaint Committee.
ii). In order to ensure that the Committees
Against Sexual Harassment are gender sensitive, representative members will be
drawn from different categories.
iii). In order to create autonomous
institutional structures to enquire into complaints of sexual harassment,
members from outside NCERT with a known contribution to women’s rights issues
shall be included in each Committee.
iv). The 1997 Supreme Court judgment makes it
mandatory for each Committee to have a woman chairperson.
v). Not less than half of the Committee
members shall be women.
vi). All members of the Committee Against
Sexual Harassment should be neutral and unbiased
Power and Duties of all
Committees Against Sexual Harassment
A. Preventive Gender
sensitization and Orientation
1. To work towards creating an
atmosphere promoting equality, non discrimination and gender justice
2. To promote and facilitate measures to
create a work and study environment that is free of sexual harassment of women.
3. To publicise widely the policy
against sexual harassment in Hindi, English and the language of the region
6. To regularly organize and carry out
programmes for gender sensitization of members through workshops, seminars,
posters, film shows, debates etc.
B. REMEDIAL Enquiry
1. To receive and take cognizance of
complaints made about sexual harassment of women at the workplace.
2. To conduct enquiries into these
complaints, place findings before the concerned disciplinary authority and
recommend penalties against the harasser in accordance with the rules and
procedures laid down. 3. To ensure the safety of the complainant and witnesses
during the enquiry and till the final determination of the complaint.
4. To make efforts to ensure that the
complainants and the witnesses are not further victimised or discriminated
against while it is dealing with the complaint.
5. To seek medical, police and legal
intervention with the consent of the complainant.
6. To make arrangements for appropriate
legal, psychological / emotional and physical support for the complainant if
she so desires in terms of providing referral numbers.
Guidelines for all Committees Against
Sexual Harassment:
a. The Chairperson (woman) and members
of the committee to be nominated by the Director from the panels recommended.
b. At least 50% of the members in each of
these categories should be women.
c. The term of each Committee shall be
two years. The previous Committee will however continue till the new Committee
is constituted.
d. In the event of the expiry of the
term of a Committee Against Sexual Harassment during the pendency of an enquiry
then for purposes of that complaint the Committee Against Sexual Harassment
will be regarded as a valid Committee, under this Policy and Service Rules,
till the submission of the Enquiry Report to the disciplinary authority.
e. A person shall be disqualified from
being appointed, elected, nominated or designated as, or for being continued
as, a member of any Committee Against Sexual Harassment if there is any
complaint concerning sexual harassment pending against him, or if he has been
found guilty of sexual harassment/serious misconduct.
Procedure
for Registering Complaints
i.
The
mechanism for registering complaints should be safe, accessible and sensitive.
ii.
All
complaints must be brought by the complainant in person.
iii.
If the complainant wishes, she can be
accompanied by a representative.
iv.
Complaints
can be lodged directly with any member of the relevant Committee Against Sexual
Harassment, or through existing channels for lodging grievances.
v.
The
complaint may be oral or in writing. If the complaint is oral, it shall be
reduced in writing by the Complaints Committee member receiving the complaint
and the same shall be authenticated by the complainant under her dated
signature or thumb impression as the case may be.
vi.
All complaints
made to any Committee member must be received and recorded by the member, who
shall then inform the Chairperson about the complaint, who in turn shall call a
meeting of the Committee.
vii.
All meetings of the committee will be called
by the Chairperson and a notice of at least 5 working day
viii.
No person who is a complainant, witness, or
defendant in the complaint of sexual harassment shall be a member of a
Committee.
ix.
Any committee member charged with sexual
harassment in a written complaint must step down as member during the enquiry
into that complaint.
Procedure to be followed by
the Committee:
The committee shall enquire into the complaint
of sexual harassment following procedures in conformity with the principles of
natural justice and gender sensitivity.
The Committee shall strive to complete
the enquiry in the shortest possible time, preferable within three months
from the date on which the complaint is referred to and not exceeding it. Within one week of the institution of enquiry
proceedings by the Complaints Committee, the Committee shall prepare a document
containing a summary of the complaint such as the location, date and time on
which the incident is alleged to have occurred and shall hand over the same to
the complainant and the defendant. The defendant shall be given all this
information in the prescribed format along with a copy of the Rules and
Procedures of this Policy. The Committee shall also make available to the
defendant a true copy of the complaint(s) lodged by the complainant(s). All
information received in the course of the examination and enquiry into a
complaint of sexual harassment shall be held in trust by the concerned
Committee Against Sexual Harassment
Enquiry to be completed within
90 days: - The enquiry shall be
completed and the Enquiry Report submitted to the Committee Against sexual
Harassment within a period of 90 days from the date on which the enquiry is
commenced. In the event of any delay in submission of the Enquiry Report the
reasons for the same shall be recorded in writing.
Penalties
1).Any member of the NCERT & its
Constituents, non teaching staff, student, service provider, and resident found
guilty of sexual harassment shall be liable for disciplinary action.
2). The penalties listed below are indicative,
and shall not constrain the NCERT & its Constituents authorities from
considering others, in accordance with the rules governing the conduct of all
members of the NCERT.
A. In the case of academic/administrative/
technical/ non teaching staff/ management, disciplinary action could be in the
form of one or more of the following:
i. Warning
ii. Written apology
iii. Bond of good behaviour
iv. Gender sensitization
v. Counselling
vi. Adverse remarks in the Confidential
Report
vii. Debarring from supervisory duties
viii. Denial of membership of statutory
bodies
ix. Denial of re-employment
x Stopping of increments/promotion
x.
Reverting,
demotion
xi.
Transfer
xii.
Dismissal
xiii.
Withdrawal
of residential facilities and prohibition from entry on the campus etc
xv. Any other relevant mechanism.
B. In case of students, disciplinary action
could be in the form of:
i. Warning
ii. Written apology
iii. Bond of good behavior
iv. Gender sensitization
v. Counselling
vi. Debarring entry into a hostel/ campus
vii. Withholding results
viii. Debarring from exams
ix. Debarring from contesting elections
x. Debarring from holding posts
xi. Expulsion
xii. Denial of admission
xiv.
Declaring
the harasser as "persona non grata" for a stipulated period of time
xv.
Any other
relevant mechanism.
Sexual Harassment amounts to
criminal offence:
Where the conduct of Sexual Harassment
amounts to a specific offence under the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) or under
any other law; it shall be the duty of the Committee Against Sexual Harassment
to immediately inform the complainant of her right to initiate action in
accordance with law with the appropriate authority, and to give advice and
guidance regarding the same.
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