Women’s safety in workplace

 

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The ILO Declaration of Philadelphia of 1944 affirms that "all human beings, irrespective of race, creed or sex, have the right to pursue both their material well-being and their spiritual development in conditions of freedom and dignity, of economic security and equal opportunity and that discrimination constitutes a violation of rights enunciated by the Universal Declaration of Human rights." The aim of this Convention is to protect all persons against discrimination at work, and requires ratifying states to ensure protection against discrimination in employment and occupation on seven grounds, namely race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction and social origin, as well as other grounds prohibited in national legislation by governments after consultation with the representative employers’ and workers’ organizations.

Despite the international consensus and national-level commitments to eliminate discrimination and to promote equality of opportunity and treatment, various forms of discrimination continue to prevail in the world of work. One form of discrimination on the ground of sex that should be addressed within the requirement of the Convention is sexual harassment. 

According to International Labour Organization, "Sexual harassment refers to unwelcome sexual advances or verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature which has the effect of unreasonably interfering with the individual’s work performance or creating a hostile, intimidating, abusive or offensive working environment."

Sexual harassment can be perpetrated against both women and men. However, the majority of cases of sexual harassment in the workplace are perpetrated by men against women as women often do not have equal status as men, lack power and are in more vulnerable and insecure positions. While it is difficult to quantify the prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace due to the varying definitions and perceptions of sexual harassment and the reluctance of the  harassed to report their experiences, studies have revealed that sexual harassment at the workplace is a reality for a large number of women. 

Why does sexual harassment happen?

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Most sexual harassment is used by men against women as a display of power to intimidate, coerce, and degrade. Sexual harassment happens frequently in high pressure working environments and in workplaces where the stresses and challenges facing supervisors and managers are not always recognized or acknowledged. Sexual harassment has a serious and negative impact on women’s health and well-being. Women may experience physical injuries, fear, anxiety, embarrassment, and shame. 

 Women may blame themselves for the incident(s) and may feel that they are disgracing their family, and they are often frightened of it happening again. Victims of sexual harassment often do not flee reports because they are afraid of losing their jobs; afraid of Mobbing, bullying, and further victimization; or afraid that the report would not be taken seriously.

Types of Sexual Harassment at the workplace

 According to the International Labour Organization (ILO) there are two kinds of sexual harassment in the workplace: 

·      Quid pro quo sexual harassment 

This type of sexual harassment implies seeking sexual favours or making sexual advances in exchange for benefits at work. It includes instances when:

·      There are implicit or explicit requests or demands for unwelcome sexual activity as a term or condition of employment

·      Consent to or rejection of unwelcome sexually explicit behaviour or speech is made a condition for employment, or refusal to comply with a ‘request’ is met with retaliatory action such as dismissal, demotion, difficult work conditions.

·      Hostile Work Environment 

A hostile working environment involves uninvited and unwelcome conducts or behaviour whether they are physical, verbal, non-verbal or visual forms that create a work environment that makes it uncomfortable for a worker to be there. A hostile working environment is usually dependent on circumstances, frequency (repetitive misconduct rather than a single episode of misbehaviour), and severity.

 

The Sexual Harassment of Women (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013 recognizes these types and forms of sexual harassment and states that if the following circumstances occur or are present concerning, or connected with any act or behaviour of sexual harassment may amount to sexual harassment at the workplace: 

• Implied or explicit promise of preferential treatment in her employment
• Implied or explicit threat of detrimental treatment in her employment
• Implied or explicit threat about her present or future employment status
• Interference with her work or creating an intimidating or offensive or hostile work environment for her
• Humiliating treatment likely to affect her health or safety.

 

Preventing Sexual Harassment

 

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In  India, the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013 deems it the duty of the employer, as well as other responsible persons in workplaces or institutions to “provide protection against sexual harassment of women at workplace and for the prevention and redressal of complaints of sexual harassment and matters connected therewith or incidental thereto”. This implies that these individuals are responsible to: 

·      prevent or deter the commission of acts of sexual harassment within the workplace 

·      provide the procedures for the resolution, settlement or prosecution of acts of sexual harassment by taking all required steps.

The duties of an employer and/or the appropriate Government towards the prevention of Sexual harassment in the workplace have been explicitly laid down in the Act as follows:

• Provide a safe working environment at the workplace which shall include safety from third party (outsiders) coming into contact at the workplace
• Display penal consequences of sexual harassment
• Display information about the grievance handling mechanisms including about the Internal Committee 
• Organize workshops and awareness programmes at regular intervals for sensitizing the employees with the provisions of the Act
• Organize orientation programmes for the members of the Internal Committee
• Treat sexual harassment as misconduct under the service rules and initiate action for such misconduct.

 Although maintaining a clear workplace anti-harassment Policy, establishing and maintaining an ICC, and raising awareness of the consequence of harassment are legal requirements, businesses can take an active role in preventing violence and promoting gender equality. For instance, one factory in Bengaluru successfully used a series of street plays, one-to-one interactions, experience sharing, and health camps to improve attitudes related to gender norms in the workplace and the workers’ Community.  

There needs to be an overhaul of the criminal justice system as well as a change in the values, morals and perception towards women in our society. The Act alone would not be able to combat the plague of sexual harassment, and it is up to us as a nation and society to bring the change from within to ensure that this menace is eradicated from society.

-by

Prabhneet Kaur

Member, WiB