Sexual Harassment at the workplace: legal framework and enforcement

Published on 23rd January 2025

Authored by: Ankita Dasgupta

Techno India University

ABSTRACT:

Sexual harassment is pervasive. This destroys productivity, equality, and dignity. This paper shows how sexual harassment takes place and how to take action against it. Policies should be done and guidelines should be followed and also the remedy.

Introduction To Sexual Harassment in The Workplace:

Sexual harassment is obsessive, continuous, and pervasive. Its nature is described as intimidating, antagonistic, or a working environment that is very derogatory. This ruins the trust between employees along with respect between each other and also the dignity, (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [ EEOC 2020]. In overall cases, we all have noticed that in most of them, the harasser is a man and the victim is a woman, but also the victim can be a man and woman as a harasser. Sexual harassment can happen in the case of LGBTQ also. So, we can say that this harassment can happen with any kind of gender in the world. This bestial nature can make the employees less productive and it leads to apprehension in their mind. So that’s why the worker starts to do absenteeism.[1]

What are the types of sexual harassment in the workplace?

Here the first is “hostile work environment” and the last one is “quid pro quo”

Here “Hostile Work Environment” is wicked. This can be described as a behaviour of the supervisors, manager, workers, or any other level that leads to creating a difficult environment in the workplace for the victims during their employment. It creates a frightening environment for the victim in the workplace. So, in other words, it explains unwelcome conduct like the use of sexual language or off-colour jokes, joking about sex acts, nude photos, etc which creates a horrible environment for the victim in his/her workplace.[2] Case laws of hostile work environment are Navin Kumar Vishakha vs state of Rajasthan[3], here a woman work in an NGO in 1992. During her employment, she stopped a marriage in her workplace. Because during the early period child marriage takes place. So, to avoid those illegal marriages of minors, the Supreme Court had appointed many NGOs to stop those marriages. And then harassment has not over that time. When she went to do a file no police officer accepted that case. So, a “Vishakha” named NGO filed a petition which led to the issuance of guidelines to keep women safe.

“Every bribe is a case of quid pro quo but every Quid pro quo is not a bribe” so here the word quid pro quo means “something which is received or given for something else”. So, this bribery relation is better until it is legal. If we see through the point of view of sexual harassment it is illegal to use “quid pro quo”. This quid pro quo harassment takes place when a supervisor makes a deal with that employee and so for instead of legal benefit he wants sexual advantage. So, this is how quid pro quo harassment occurs in the workplace.[4]

A brief history of legislation arises for sexual harassment in the workplace:

This historical track of legislation is created by societal standards, by evolving legal standards, and advocacy efforts to finalize the law to experience equality and getting justice, and respect during employment in the workplace. So basically, by encountering the origin, development, and challenges this legislation took a positive step against sexual harassment in the workplace. So, some legal framework has been done to avoid the harassment that every type of gender suffers in their workplace. The landmark case Mechelle Vinson v. Meritor Savings Bank (1986) reflects a crucial moment in sexual harassment as a sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. and so the Supreme Court created unlawful discrimination. So for this judicial actions were taken. During the late 20th and 21st century countries like Canada, Australia, UK, and other European and other nations enacted laws and regulations that prohibited sexual harassment in the workplace.[5]

Here some of the Acts and sections under IPC that had developed to avoid sexual harassment are:

POSH Act referred to as “Prevention of Sexual Harassment” was enacted on 23rd April 2013. It is an Indian law that aims to create a “safe and conducive environment” so that women can work freely in the workplace without any harassment. This act describes sexual harassment which includes physical contact and sexual advances, a demand or request for sexual Favors, making sexually coloured remarks, and showing pornography. This POSH act formed after the Bhanwari Devi incident. In this incident, there was a social worker who was working with the women`s development project of the Rajasthan government who was brutally gang raped after she tried to stop the marriage of a 1-year-old girl. Also, the Vishaka judgment in 1997, where due to preventing a child`s marriage the NGO named Vishaka had petitioned a file against it, and after that, the Supreme Court issued Vishaka guidelines until the law was enacted. So lastly because of this incident, this POSH bill was introduced and developed by the Women and Child Development Ministry in 2007. This bill has gone through such amendments and at last, they commenced work on December 2013 December 9 which was enacted by the parliament.[6]

There are also sections under IPC for sexual harassment in workplace: – 1) Sec 509 of the IPC defines ‘eve teasing’ and reads as “whoever, intending to insult the modesty of any woman, utters any word, makes any sound or gesture, or exhibits any object, intending that such word or sound shall be heard, or that such gesture or object shall be seen, by such woman, or intrudes upon the privacy of such woman, shall be punished with simple.[7]

Sec 354(a): – A person commits sexual harassment like physical contact, showing nudes, using sexual gestures, or overtones, and requesting sexual Favors.[8]

3) Sec 354: – Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty- whenever any person assaults or does force on a woman and also has their intention and he likes to outrage her modesty.[9]

UDHR (Universal Declaration of Human Rights):

It is described as human rights and its declaration occurred by the United General Assembly in Paris. It describes civil and political rights where it is described as rights to life, liberty, and security in life. It is applied in the case of everyone, ethnicity, gender, religion, or any other status. According to sexual harassment, everybody in the workplace needs to maintain equality and dignity should be present there everyone should respect their rights because everyone is born birth with equality and also with their rights.[10]

ICC (Internal Complaints Committee):

In this Act, every organization with ten or more employees should establish an internal complaints committee. So, the work of this committee is to deal with the complaints made by the victim about sexual harassment in their workplace. This organization consists of a presiding office (women employee) two employed members and an external member who should have great experience in social work the person should have legal knowledge and also should know women’s issues.[11]

Anyone can complain about sexual harassment to ICC and both the victim and respondent get to present their case. If the complaint is genuine then it will take appropriate actions.

Remedy for sexual harassment in the workplace

1) Guidelines should be issued to avoid sexual harassment in the workplace.

2) Complaints should be made immediately to ICC when any kind of sexual harassment happens with any employee in the workplace.

3) According to ICC respondent should have to give an apology letter to the complainant.

4) Disciplinary action should be taken against the respondent including suspension, demotion, or termination of an employee.[12]

Conclusion:

Sexual harassment destroys productivity. So, policies should be made, guidelines should be issued for avoiding sexual harassment should be followed and every person who has faced this harassment should raise their voice and they should step on taking strict action against the victim. Everyone should respect and maintain equality, and dignity between each employee.

References

[1]Manju Neha, A Review of Legal Frameworks Addressing Workplace Sexual Harassment, https://www.ijnrd.org/papers/IJNRD2403581.pdf

Accessed on 12 Dec. 2024

[2] Jennifer Pasquini, Elizabeth Shannon, Katie Chamberlain, June Krumpotick, Inessa Baram-Blackwell and Elise Fandrich, https://legalvoice.org/sexual-harassment-at-work/

Accessed on 12December 2024

[3] https://www.casemine.com/judgement/in/5609ad17e4b0149711410837

Accessed on 12 Dec. 2024

[4] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quid%20pro%20quo, Accessed on 12 Dec. 2024

[5] [5]Manju Neha, A Review of Legal Frameworks Addressing Workplace Sexual Harassment, https://www.ijnrd.org/papers/IJNRD2403581.pdf

Accessed on 12 Dec. 2024

[6] https://www.clearias.com/posh-act/ , Accessed on 12 Dec. 2024

[7] https://indiankanoon.org/doc/68146/, Accessed on 12 Dec. 2024

[8] Advocate Chikirsha Mohanty, https://lawrato.com/indian-kanoon/ipc/section-354A, Accessed on 12 Dec. 2024

[9]https://indiankanoon.org/doc/83565279/, Accessed on 12 Dec .2024

[10]Ruchira Baruah, https://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/2545/The-Law-Against-Sexual-Harassment.html, Accessed on 12 Dec. 2024

[11] https://blog.ipleaders.in/all-about-the-internal-complaints-committee-icc/, Accessed on 12 Dec. 2024