Dr Anagha Sarpotdar is a practitioner and researcher working on social and legal aspects of sexual harassment at workplace. She has PhD degree in Social Sciences.
The private sector in India has by and large not been very receptive to women’s complaints about ... more The private sector in India has by and large not been very receptive to women’s complaints about sexual harassment at the workplace. This article highlights the importance of company policies on sexual harassment, the role of their human resource departments, and says that the private sector has to clearly articulate and uphold its code of conduct to prevent and address sexual harassment at the workplace. The effectiveness of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 remains to be seen.
. Though the Act appears to be an extension the Vishakha guidelines (1997), spirit of Vishakha is... more . Though the Act appears to be an extension the Vishakha guidelines (1997), spirit of Vishakha is visibly amiss. Nonetheless it has given rise to hopes as it is seen as a concrete step by the government towards dealing with the problem of sexual harassment. This article is based on the argument that unless certain unclear areas in the Act which have potential to influence its implementation in coming years are interpreted from the perspective of constitutional equality and contextualised with the struggle from it emerged with a pro woman understanding, the Act it will remain a token gesture and never be able bring about desired change in the position of women in relation to work.
Sexual harassment policies are not just documents to be formulated as legal requirement. They are... more Sexual harassment policies are not just documents to be formulated as legal requirement. They are symbolic documents that bring forth an organisation's stand on sexual harassment. Sexual harassment being a complicated and deep rooted issue, an anti sexual harassment policy alone will not be able to stop it from occurring nor will it bring transformation in the sexist attitudes. However it will lay the foundation for regular awareness generation, accountable and transparent redressal processes.
The private sector in India has by and large not been very receptive to women’s complaints about ... more The private sector in India has by and large not been very receptive to women’s complaints about sexual harassment at the workplace. This article highlights the importance of company policies on sexual harassment, the role of their human resource departments, and says that the private sector has to clearly articulate and uphold its code of conduct to prevent and address sexual harassment at the workplace. The effectiveness of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 remains to be seen.
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act was passe... more The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act was passed in 2013 but not many companies in Mumbai have taken its provisions seriously or formed the mandatory internal complaints committees. A survey of how complaints by women were treated by some companies and what the internal committee members had to say shows that employer response to their women personnel and staff victimises the victim.
One of the major milestones of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibiti... more One of the major milestones of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (hereafter referred to as 2013 Act) was to provide a special redress mechanism in the form of a district level committee for redressing complaints originating in the unorganised sector. While much has been spoken and written about responsiveness or lack of thereof about the Internal Committee (IC)s, there has been a lack of data when it comes to understanding functioning of the local committees and consequently little public discourse. 2013 Act defines unorganised sector as a workplace that engages less than ten workers while a domestic worker has been specifically defined. For the purpose of addressing complaints that will be reported from the unorganised sector; Section 7 of the Act mandates constitution of a Local Committee (LC) by the state government. Need for such an article arose from unsuccessful implementation of the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court in Vishakha judgment on sexual harassment at the workplace (1997) with respect to the unorganised sector and a dire necessity of documenting the experience of implementing the PRSH Act, 2013 in the unorganised sector. Objective of this article is to examine the functioning of the LC. I will be doing the same from the point of view of a member and current Chairperson of the LC, Mumbai City District. Despite the 2013 Act providing a special redress mechanism for the unorganised sector, there is a lack of data when it comes to understanding functioning of the local committees. This is therefore an account of LC functioning based on my experience, observations, case laws and media reporting. The article is broadly divided into four sections i.e. strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and risks which offer insight into LC functioning.
Constitutional Ideals: Development and Realisation Through Court-led Justice, edited by Harish Narasappa, Shruti Vidyasagar, Sandhya PR, and Anindita Pattanayak., Apr 2023
Chapter titled Evolution of Jurisprudence on Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace with Referen... more Chapter titled Evolution of Jurisprudence on Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace with Reference to Constitutional Values looks at progressive judgements on sexual harassment at the workplace, upholding constitutional values such as justice, equality, and dignity. Foremost among all rulings is the Supreme Court’s Vishaka judgement (1997) and five others delivered by the Delhi High Court. The High Court at Delhi has consistently engaged with matters concerning sexual harassment of women at the workplace and has handed down judgements meriting attention.
The private sector in India has by and large not been very receptive to women’s complaints about ... more The private sector in India has by and large not been very receptive to women’s complaints about sexual harassment at the workplace. This article highlights the importance of company policies on sexual harassment, the role of their human resource departments, and says that the private sector has to clearly articulate and uphold its code of conduct to prevent and address sexual harassment at the workplace. The effectiveness of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 remains to be seen.
. Though the Act appears to be an extension the Vishakha guidelines (1997), spirit of Vishakha is... more . Though the Act appears to be an extension the Vishakha guidelines (1997), spirit of Vishakha is visibly amiss. Nonetheless it has given rise to hopes as it is seen as a concrete step by the government towards dealing with the problem of sexual harassment. This article is based on the argument that unless certain unclear areas in the Act which have potential to influence its implementation in coming years are interpreted from the perspective of constitutional equality and contextualised with the struggle from it emerged with a pro woman understanding, the Act it will remain a token gesture and never be able bring about desired change in the position of women in relation to work.
Sexual harassment policies are not just documents to be formulated as legal requirement. They are... more Sexual harassment policies are not just documents to be formulated as legal requirement. They are symbolic documents that bring forth an organisation's stand on sexual harassment. Sexual harassment being a complicated and deep rooted issue, an anti sexual harassment policy alone will not be able to stop it from occurring nor will it bring transformation in the sexist attitudes. However it will lay the foundation for regular awareness generation, accountable and transparent redressal processes.
The private sector in India has by and large not been very receptive to women’s complaints about ... more The private sector in India has by and large not been very receptive to women’s complaints about sexual harassment at the workplace. This article highlights the importance of company policies on sexual harassment, the role of their human resource departments, and says that the private sector has to clearly articulate and uphold its code of conduct to prevent and address sexual harassment at the workplace. The effectiveness of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 remains to be seen.
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act was passe... more The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act was passed in 2013 but not many companies in Mumbai have taken its provisions seriously or formed the mandatory internal complaints committees. A survey of how complaints by women were treated by some companies and what the internal committee members had to say shows that employer response to their women personnel and staff victimises the victim.
One of the major milestones of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibiti... more One of the major milestones of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (hereafter referred to as 2013 Act) was to provide a special redress mechanism in the form of a district level committee for redressing complaints originating in the unorganised sector. While much has been spoken and written about responsiveness or lack of thereof about the Internal Committee (IC)s, there has been a lack of data when it comes to understanding functioning of the local committees and consequently little public discourse. 2013 Act defines unorganised sector as a workplace that engages less than ten workers while a domestic worker has been specifically defined. For the purpose of addressing complaints that will be reported from the unorganised sector; Section 7 of the Act mandates constitution of a Local Committee (LC) by the state government. Need for such an article arose from unsuccessful implementation of the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court in Vishakha judgment on sexual harassment at the workplace (1997) with respect to the unorganised sector and a dire necessity of documenting the experience of implementing the PRSH Act, 2013 in the unorganised sector. Objective of this article is to examine the functioning of the LC. I will be doing the same from the point of view of a member and current Chairperson of the LC, Mumbai City District. Despite the 2013 Act providing a special redress mechanism for the unorganised sector, there is a lack of data when it comes to understanding functioning of the local committees. This is therefore an account of LC functioning based on my experience, observations, case laws and media reporting. The article is broadly divided into four sections i.e. strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and risks which offer insight into LC functioning.
Constitutional Ideals: Development and Realisation Through Court-led Justice, edited by Harish Narasappa, Shruti Vidyasagar, Sandhya PR, and Anindita Pattanayak., Apr 2023
Chapter titled Evolution of Jurisprudence on Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace with Referen... more Chapter titled Evolution of Jurisprudence on Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace with Reference to Constitutional Values looks at progressive judgements on sexual harassment at the workplace, upholding constitutional values such as justice, equality, and dignity. Foremost among all rulings is the Supreme Court’s Vishaka judgement (1997) and five others delivered by the Delhi High Court. The High Court at Delhi has consistently engaged with matters concerning sexual harassment of women at the workplace and has handed down judgements meriting attention.
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Papers by Dr Anagha Sarpotdar
https://www.livelaw.in/takes-implement-law-sexual-harassment-workplace-india/
https://www.livelaw.in/columns/essentials-of-anti-sexual-harassment-policy-at-work-place-142107
2013 Act defines unorganised sector as a workplace that engages less than ten workers while a domestic worker has been specifically defined. For the purpose of addressing complaints that will be reported from the unorganised sector; Section 7 of the Act mandates constitution of a Local Committee (LC) by the state government. Need for such an article arose from unsuccessful implementation of the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court in Vishakha judgment on sexual harassment at the workplace (1997) with respect to the unorganised sector and a dire necessity of documenting the experience of implementing the PRSH Act, 2013 in the unorganised sector. Objective of this article is to examine the functioning of the LC. I will be doing the same from the point of view of a member and current Chairperson of the LC, Mumbai City District. Despite the 2013 Act providing a special redress mechanism for the unorganised sector, there is a lack of data when it comes to understanding functioning of the local committees. This is therefore an account of LC functioning based on my experience, observations, case laws and media reporting. The article is broadly divided into four sections i.e. strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and risks which offer insight into LC functioning.
https://www.livelaw.in/takes-implement-law-sexual-harassment-workplace-india/
https://www.livelaw.in/columns/essentials-of-anti-sexual-harassment-policy-at-work-place-142107
2013 Act defines unorganised sector as a workplace that engages less than ten workers while a domestic worker has been specifically defined. For the purpose of addressing complaints that will be reported from the unorganised sector; Section 7 of the Act mandates constitution of a Local Committee (LC) by the state government. Need for such an article arose from unsuccessful implementation of the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court in Vishakha judgment on sexual harassment at the workplace (1997) with respect to the unorganised sector and a dire necessity of documenting the experience of implementing the PRSH Act, 2013 in the unorganised sector. Objective of this article is to examine the functioning of the LC. I will be doing the same from the point of view of a member and current Chairperson of the LC, Mumbai City District. Despite the 2013 Act providing a special redress mechanism for the unorganised sector, there is a lack of data when it comes to understanding functioning of the local committees. This is therefore an account of LC functioning based on my experience, observations, case laws and media reporting. The article is broadly divided into four sections i.e. strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and risks which offer insight into LC functioning.