Vrinda Grover
Interview by Aradhna Wal
What is workplace sexual harassment?
Sexual harassment in the workplace is defined in the law. Earlier we didn’t have a vocabulary to talk about it, but the definition has been there with us since the Vishakha judgment of 1997. This definition is very broad and expansive. It includes within its purview a range of misconduct – a certain kind of look, a comment, a whistle, a lewd stare, molestation, emails with sexual connotations as well as sexual assault. This broadness is important. However, the key to it is that all these actions should be unwelcome to the woman concerned. Not what the harasser thought the action meant but how the woman receives it. The way law has been interpreted by courts, sexual harassment today includes gender-based discrimination. There are other forms of harassment, which are not gender-based and without sexual connotations, and these aren’t covered by this law.
Importantly, the definition is not just confined to the act. It talks about the effect of the act, the creation of a hostile or offensive work environment. For instance, a group of men share lewd jokes in their own circle but don’t repeat them to their women colleagues. Nonetheless, they create a hostile work environment. Or, every day at lunch hour, certain jokes are being cracked at the expense of one woman. She isn’t complaining but other women are feeling extremely uncomfortable because of the nature of this conversation. They can object even if it is not directed at them. It affects women as a class.
Harassment doesn’t have to materialize into a sexual act. Even asking for sexual favor or propositioning one, that entails employment or benefits, such as a beat or a junket, are covered by this.
Onus on the workplace
The new law – the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 – lays down all the steps available for women on how to write a complaint, how many days it must take to process it, etc. It also lays down the statutory duties of the employers but most places have interpreted these in a deliberately reductive manner. The Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) is seen as an inquiry redressal mechanism. But the duty of the employer under the law is to create a safe work environment for women. Creating an ICC is just one element of that, not the only. Most organisations that think they’re complying with the law only set up an ICC. They have no regular workshops and conversations to create awareness. We are reading the law, to see what is the least we can do and get away with it.
What is a workplace?
Workplace, as defined by law, is not a spatial workplace. It is not confined to a physical office. It is any place you will be in relation to or connection to your work. There is a third party element in the law. If a person you’re interacting within the course of your work commits sexual harassment, it is the obligation of the employer to make sure some redress is made available.
Loopholes
One of the main problems, which we didn’t have earlier, is the rule that says the ICC will be nominated by the employer. Why does it assume the employer understands sexual harassment is misconduct? Therefore, we have committees that are not understanding of and sensitive to the issue. The other problem is that women who complain are seen not as whistle-blowers and sexual harassment is not seen as something harmful for the workplace, or as something that directly impacts productivity. So, women who complain are seen as troublemakers and find employment very difficult.
This piece appeared as part of the NWMI Souvenir 2019.
