Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Women and Child Development
02-December-2016 14:53 IST
Increasing number of women are now reporting cases of sexual harassment at workplace: Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi
Government of India has enacted the Sexual Harassment of Women at
Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 and Criminal
Law Amendment Act, 2013 with the objective to provide safe and secure
workplace environment to women. As per the National Crime Records Bureau
data, 57 and 119 cases of sexual harassment at workplace were reported
under section 509 IPC in the year 2014 and 2015 respectively. This
increase in number shows that more and more women are coming forward to
seek police assistance in such cases and are not suffering in silence.
For reasons behind sexual harassment of women at workplace socio-culture
mindset which is an outcome of deeply rooted patriarchal social
constructs is the major reason.
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and
Redressal) Act, 2013 mandates constitution of Internal Complaint
Committee (ICC) in all workplace whether public or private. A woman has
the right to submit her complaint directly to the Internal Complaints
Committee so constituted. In case internal complaint committee is not
constituted in any organisation than the complaint could be made to
Local Complaints Committee constituted at district level.
This information was given by the Minister of Women and Child
Development, Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi in reply to a question in the Lok
Sabha today.
