PREVENTION OF SEXUAL HARRASEMENT.pptx

1. Prevention Of Sexual Harassment
in the Workplace

2. Indian Law on
Sexual Harassment
The objective of these laws is Prevention
+ Protection + Redressal
Indian Constitution
The Sexual Harassment of Women
atWorkplace (Prevention, Prohibition
and Redressal) Act,2013
1997:
Vishaka vs.Stateof Rajasthan
The IndianPenal Code, 1860

3. Workplace
Sexual Harassment
Workplace Sexual Harassment is
behaviour that is :
- UNWELCOME
- SEXUAL in nature
- A SUBJECTIVE experience
IMPACT not INTENT is what matters
Often occurs in a matrix of power.

4. What Constitutes
Sexual Harassment?
Physical Contact
& Advances
Demanding or
Requesting
Sexual Favours
Showing
Pornography
SexuallyColoured
Remarks

5. What is
the Workplace?
Any place visited bythe employee inthe
course of employment including
transportation isconstrued as the workplace.
This includes:
● Company guest houses
● Hotel stay during official travel
● Clientplace, etc.

6. Who are Covered?
● Full time employees
● Temporary workers
● Contract workers
● Daily wage employees
● Trainees
● Interns
● Contractual workers
● Housekeeping
● Security
● Client representatives
● Vendor representatives
● Volunteers with/without
remuneration

7. Examples of
Sexual Harassment
● Staring, leering,obscene gestures, howling, making
kissing sounds, smacking lips
● Showing sexually obscene/suggestive signs,
objects or pictures
● Indecent comments, dirty jokes, comments on a
woman’s dress/body
● Using power positions to request for favours or
threats on loss of privileges/loss of job
● Touching, petting, caressing, kissing, brushing
against another’s body
● Blocking, following and cornering

8. Examples of
Sexual Harassment
continued
● Referring as honey, sweety etc., or making
innuendos
● Making work discussions sound sexual
● T
elling sexual jokes or stories
● Asking about sexual fantasies, spreading lies of
sexual nature
● Winking, licking lips
● Touching a person’s clothing, stalking
PHYSICAL ASSAULT AND RAPE

9. What is meant by
“Unwelcome” ?
● Any conduct or behaviour is unwelcome if:
- the recipient does not consent to it.
- regards itas offensive.
● Even if thevictim does not complain, it doesn’t
necessarily imply thatthe conduct is welcome.
● Some comments and/or advances are blatant
and crude and are inherentlyoffensive: these
will almost always be deemed as unwelcome.

10. Behaviour
Unwelcome Welcome
Feels bad Feels good
One sided Reciprocal
Feels powerless In-control
Power based Equality
Unwanted Wanted
Illegal Legal
Invading Open
Demeaning Appreciative
Causes anger/sadness Happy
Causes negative self-esteem Positive self esteem

11. Sexual Harassment intheWorkplace
can be categorizedinto 2groups:
Quid Pro Quo
Hostile
Environment

12. Quid Pro Quo
‘Quidpro quo’ means ‘thisfor that’, an
exchangeof one thingfor another
.Quid
pro quosexualharassment takesplace if :
● Sexual favours are asked inexchangefor
anykindof special treatment on the job.
● An employee threatens anassociate if
he/she does not consent to such sexual
advancesor favours.
The act of ‘asking’ mayeither be verbal or implied & ‘sexual conduct’ maybe
verbal or physical.Ineither case, it must be unwelcome.

13. Hostile Environment
Hostile environment sexualharassment
occurswhen:
● Speech or conduct of a sexual nature takes
place & is seen as offensive (affects
performance of recipient or associates)
● Intimidating /harassing conduct that is
directed at an individual, or a group of
individuals takes place.

14. Isthis Sexual Harassment or Not?

15. 1
Aravindand Suguna are part of a teamat an organisation.
Suguna reports to Aravind.
Aravindconstantly tells Suguna that theyshould go out somewhere after
workhours,perhaps for alate night movie or dinner
.
Suguna is uncomfortable but smiles and saysshe is busy most often!
One day,Aravindtells Suguna that if she turns down his request again,her
ratings will go down inher monthly review.
ISTHIS SEXUAL HARASSMENT OR NOT?

16. 2
Neha is part of team that reports to Neeraj who is hercollege Senior
.
Neha is verygood at her work and is assigned the most prestigiousproject
in the company instead of Niravwho is the senior in the team and has a lot
more workexperience thanNeha.
Niravis veryupset and believes that Neha has been assigned the coveted
project because they must be having a relationship. He jokes about this
with other team members and slowly this spreads around in the company.
ISTHIS SEXUAL HARASSMENT OR NOT?

17. 3
Reshma justjoined as a fresher and has been undergoingtraining. One of
the trainers was Rashid,who was handling the New Product development.
Reshma wanted to be part of his team and approached him. On seeing
her enthusiasmand performance Rashid ensured that she would be joining
Rashid team post the training..
Reshma joinedRashid’s team. Rashid asked Reshma out for dinner a few
times and she agreed willingly. Slowly the workload increased and once
when Rashid asked Reshma out to Dinner
,she refused.Rashid continued
to keep calling her and sent multitude of emails.
ISTHIS SEXUAL HARASSMENT OR NOT?

18. Suman sent across pictures of some scantily clad women to Joe.
Joerequested Suman not to send himsuch obscene pictures in the future
as he was not comfortable with the same.But Suman continued.
ISTHIS AN EXAMPLE OF HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT
SEXUAL HARASSMENT?
4

19. 5
Abhi was entering the elevator and Aasuthoshcame up from behind
tapped on her shoulders and told herShe looked hot in the red dress.
Abhi felt uncomfortable and stared at Aasuthosh and told himto keep his
hands off and use discretion in his language. Aasuthoshapologized and it
never happened again.
ISABHI BEING SEXUALLY HARASSED BY
AASUTHOSH?

20. 6
Jayanthiand Ram joined together as trainees. After one year Ram started
asking J
ayanthi to go out with him, which she refused. Ramsent a
message that Ilove youand you are mylife. J
ayanthi was shocked and
was so frightened and took off for two daysfrom work.
Ram sent out another messageWhere are you?Imissyou. Jayanthi filed a
harassment case against him.
Ram caresfor Jayanthiand wantsa relationship withher
.
ISTHIS SEXUAL HARASSMENT OR NOT?

21. Presiding Officer – Senior woman
employee from the workplace/other
adminunits/office/organisations.
2Members – Committed to the cause of
women/experience in social work/legal
knowledge
1Member – from an NGO/other
women’s organisation/familiar with
issuesrelating to sexual harassment.
ICC
14
InternalCommittee

22. Report Incident
(within 3 Months)
Complaint to
ICC
Notify Respondent
(7Days)
Get Response
(10 Days)
Does
Respondent
Agree?
No
Yes
Enquiry
(90 Days)
Findings &
Recommendation Report
Settlement or
Punishment
Action
(60 Days)
Filing aComplaint Process

23. Once acomplaint is received & the investigation
has been carried out,validity of the harassment
allegations will be determined.
If harassment has occurred, prompt, remedial
action will be taken.
Consequences of Sexual Harassment

24. Action Against Harassment can Include
● Restoration of lost terms,conditionsor benefits of employment
to the complaining associate.
● Disciplination of Harasser:
➦ Writtendisciplinarywarnings
➦ Demotion
➦ Suspension
➦ Termination

25. What isNOT Workplace Sexual
Harassment?
● Following-upon workabsences.
● Requiringperformance to jobstandards.
● Reprimandsin relation to work/meetingtargets or deadlines.
● Work-related stress e.g.meeting deadlines or qualitystandards.
● Touching/brushingagainst/pushing withouta sexual connotation.
● Constructive feedbackabout work.

26. Steps to Deter
Sexual Harassment
● DO NOT IGNORE IT.
Don’t pretend it didn’t happen. Inform
the harasser that the behaviour is
unwelcome.
● REPORT THE INCIDENT.
Tell the ICC exactly what happened as
soon as possible.
● DO NOT ACCEPT THE BEHAVIOUR.
Do not tolerate the harassment even if
it seems that others around you are
tolerating it.

27. Steps to Deter
Sexual Harassment
● BE SUPPORTIVE.
If someone wishes to talk to you about
their personal experience, listen with
empathy and then direct them to ICC.
● ANY ASSOCIATE MAY FILE
COMPLAINTS.
If you see someone else getting
harassed, you may also file a complaint.

28. Protection Against
Retaliation
Retaliation includes:
● Marginalizing someone in the
workplace with regardto their roles
and responsibilities
● Socially ostracizing
● Intimidating someone close or
related to the victim; (physically,
psychologically,or emotionally)

29. Protection Against Retaliation
● Retaliationis a serious violation of the POSH policy .
Anyform of retaliation against a victimor their supporters is forbidden.
● Persons who retaliate in the formof
- Intimidation
- Pressure to withdraw the case
- Threats (forreporting,testifyingor participatingintheproceedings)
should be reported to the Committee immediately.
● Retaliationwill be treated as a majormisconductand the Committee will
take action to prevent/rectify the retaliation.
● Anyperson found to have retaliated against an individual for reporting
harassment will be subject to disciplinaryprocedures.

30. Consensual Relationships
● Consensual relationships are not harassmentif they are welcomed bythe
person involved.
● However
,if such behaviour is unwelcome, suchbehaviouris considered
creating a hostile environment.
If a consensual relationship ceases to exist
➔ Conduct once considered welcome maylater be seen as unwelcome.
➔ Eitherperson mayend the relationship,at any point in time,withoutfear of
retaliation at the job.
➔ Behaviour that was welcome within a consensual relationship becomes
unwelcome and it will be treated as sexualharassment.

31. ThankYou!
Questions?