A Critical Analysis of a Law on the Prevention of Sexual Harassment at the Workplace in India

Abstract

In a developing country like India, with more and more entry of women into the workforce, which was conventionally and comparatively monopolized by men, the sexual harassment at workplace is steadily growing and women have started experiencing the intensity of it. Sexual harassment is considered as a violation of a woman’s fundamental right to equality, which is guaranteed by Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution. The problem of sexual harassment relates not so much to the actual biological differences between men and women, but to the gender or social roles which are attributed to men and women in social and economic life, and perceptions about male and female sexuality in a society. Gender inequality is both the cause of sexual harassment and the consequence of it. Sexual harassment is not an epidemic, it is a pandemic that is occurring every day and everywhere. Sexual Harassment is pervasive, there is no institution or industry which is immune to it. Women will not be fully equal with men as long as this behaviour continues. To curb this menace the Government of India has enacted ‘the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013’ with the objective of providing a safe and secure work environment for women. However, nine years since its enactment, the government has still not published any information on how effectively this law and its committees are functioning. But the surveys conducted by private agencies highlight the poor implementation of the Act in the country. The present paper critically analyses the provisions of the Act and its implementation while discussing its evolution, objectives, and important provisions of the Act.