Anti-sexual harassment cells needed in colleges, offices

Anti-sexual harassment cells needed in colleges, offices

NEHA SHARMA
I NEW DELHI
Sexual harassment cases in the capital refuse to die down. Allegations by students of Ramjas College that their vice principal B.N. Ray tried to sexually harass them in exchange of good marks is the latest case in point. A couple of days back, a government enquiry had found the Unicef country head in India, Cecilio Adorno guilty of sexually harassing a female colleague.
While educational institutes maintain that they take a tough stand against the offence, the Unicef case comes to light just months after the Delhi high court came down heavily on the offence and said that only a tangible legislation could curb sexual harassment at work through effective measures.
Delhi University (DU) students say students should turn to the sexual harassment committee, which should take care of everything, first of which should be filing an FIR against the accused.
Says Nirmika Singh, coordinator Women Development Cell (WDC) Lady Shri Ram College, "Going by what the victims are saying, incidents of sexual harassment have been happening in Ramjas since some time and it is sad that the administration kept pushing it under the carpet. Every college is supposed to have a committee against sexual harassment, which should take cognisance of such offences. LSR was the first college to have a WDC and it has been active throughout. No one will mess with students when they know that they have a committee to turn to."
Sexual harassment at workplace has been a matter of concern for many years now. Very often, the accused holds an important and influential position, which makes it difficult for the victim to fight him. Internal committees are often not viable and organisations tend to ignore unpleasant incidents fearing a "bad name" for the company.
Social activists say that though the sexual al harassment at workplace bill 2007 is ready to be tabled, it might be neglected in the winter session of the Parliament due to the nuclear deal.
Social worker Nafisa Ali says that every office and educational institute needs to have a cell to deal with the situation, but a legislation will definitely go a long way in giving teeth to the entire arrangement.
"It is essential not just for a corporate house or a hospital, but also schools and colleges to have a special cell to look into these matters because it has become a very common phenomenon. Such cells should look not only at cure but also prevention. They should do counselling and equip the workers and students to speak up if need be. Of course, what is most desirable is a legislation regarding the same," she says.
Legal experts say it is pertinent that an act should come into being regarding sexual harassment at work. They say that the Vishaka guidelines of 1997, which came into being to tackle the menace, should give way to a law. While laying down the guidelines, the Supreme Court had observed that "these guidelines were to be implemented until a legislation is passed to deal with the issue".
Advocate Abhishek Aggarwal says, "Generally a guideline laid down by the Supreme Court becomes a law. Even otherwise, the lower court has to acknowledge the guidelines while judging a case. However, many in the field feel that this issue is highly politicised. There are sections dealing with sexual harassment in the IPC and a separate section for workplace is not required if we judge every case fairly within the ambit of what is already provided for," he adds.




Source: Deccan Chronicle, 29th October, 2007.