The document discusses several high-profile cases of sexual harassment that have occurred in India and abroad. It describes incidents where prominent journalists, CEOs, and politicians have been accused of sexually harassing or assaulting colleagues and subordinates. It also summarizes the findings of a survey which showed that many Indian companies are not fully complying with laws requiring the establishment of internal committees to handle sexual harassment complaints. The document stresses that preventing sexual harassment is a shared responsibility and outlines some strategies for creating a respectful workplace culture and addressing disrespectful behavior when it occurs.

1. PREVENTING SEXUAL
HARASSMENT
IN THE WORKPLACE

3. Tehelka founder Tarun Tejpal has
been accused of sexually
assaulting his junior colleague
twice in Goa. The renowned
journalist initially issued a
statement atoning for his "lapse
of judgement" and recusing
himself from the post of Editor for
a period of six months. Reports
then emerged that Tejpal said it
was 'consensual'. While Tehelka
has been slammed for its
lackadaisical attitude in this
matter, the case is being probed
by Goa police who have slapped
him with charges of rape.

4. In July 2006, the then President
of Israel Moshe Katsav was
accused by a female employee of
raping her. Eventually four more
women accused him of sexual
harassment. In June 2007,
Katsav resigned the ceremonial
presidency in disgrace after a
long investigation into allegations
that he raped and otherwise
sexually assaulted female
staffers. In November 2011,
Israel's Supreme Court upheld a
conviction for rape against
Katsav, and said it saw no reason
to change the seven-year jail
sentence imposed on him.

5. Phaneesh Murthy had to leave
Infosys in 2002 after his
secretary Reka Maximovitch filed
a case against the company for
allegedly sexually harassing her.
Murthy then joined iGate and
went on to become the CEO in
2008. In May 2013, iGate sacked
him for sexually harassing head
of investor relations Araceli Roiz

6. Anand Jon was a fashion designer
originally from Kerala. He went to
the United States in the nineties
and eventually made a name for
himself on the runways of New
York. He even dressed celebrities
like Paris Hilton and Janet Jackson.
He was however accused of sexual
harassment by several models who
said he lured them on the pretext of
giving them modeling assignments.
In November 2008, he was
convicted in Los Angeles of multiple
charges including sexual assault. In
August 2009, he was sentenced to
59 years of life imprisonment.

7. Senior congress leader and former
governor of Andhra Pradesh
Narayan Dutt Tiwari was in 2009
accused of being involved in a sex
scandal. The scandal broke out with
the video broadcast by a Telugu
language channel that allegedly
showed Tiwari in bed with three
women at his official residence in the
Raj Bhavan.A police complaint was
filed against Tiwari for 'sexually
abusing girls, blackmail and misuse
of office'. Tiwari publicly apologized,
but claimed that he was being
framed by a political conspiracy. He
eventually resigned from the post of
Governor

8. Mark V Hurd, former CEO of
HP, resigned in 2010 after
former company contractor
Jodie Fischer alleged that he
had sexually harassed her.
He was accused of falsifying
documents to conceal a
relationship with Jodie
Fischer and help her get paid
for work she didn't do.

9. K P S Gill is a former Director
General of Police, Punjab. In
1996, the retired IPS officer was
convicted of sexual harassment.
A senior female IAS officer
Rupan Deol Bajaj said he
harassed her at a party in 1988
by 'patting' her 'posterior'. Gill,
however did not do jail term as
his sentence was reduced to
probation.

10. Harry Stonecipher, former
CEO of Boeing, resigned in
2005 because he had an
improper relationship with
Boeing executive Debra
Peabody. His wife of 50
years, Joan Stonecipher, filed
for divorce just days after
news of his affair became
public.

11. David Davidar, CEO of
Penguin, a global publishing
company, had to resign in
2010 after Lisa Rundle, one
of the female employees from
Penguin, filed a sexual
harassment case against
him. Lisa filed a lawsuit of
$523,000 against David. The
case was later settled out of
the court and she received a
settlement amount of
$100,000.

12. Stephen P MacMillan, former
CEO of the medical device
manufacturer Stryker
Corporation, was sacked for
having an affair with Jennifer
Koch a flight attendant on the
company's corporate jet.

13. John Browne headed British
Petroleum for 10 years before
resigning in 2007. Browne never
publicly acknowledged being gay.
But he tried to block a British
newspaper from publishing an
interview with his former
boyfriend. In the court, he lied
about how he met the former
lover, saying that they met in a
park when they had actually met
through an escort service. He had
to resign for that lie.

14. Padma Vibhushan awardee and the former chief
of a United Nations climate panel was accused in
February 2015 of sexual harassment by a 29-year-
old researcher working at the Delhi-based think-
tank The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)
where Pachauri was Director General. On Feb
13th 2016, the TERI Governing Board asked Dr.
Pachauri to proceeded on indefinite leave from
Teri after it came under intense scrutiny and
criticism for not protecting the rights of the woman
who had made allegations against Dr Pachauri.
He has also stepped down from United Nation's
Inter- governmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) and Prime Minister's Council on Climate
Change.

15. What is it like in Indian Corporate Houses?
• The number of cases that go unreported with the woman
employee either tolerating the harassment for personal reasons
or quietly quitting her job and moving ahead is far more than
what the above figures suggest.

16. What is it like in Indian Corporate Houses?
• Physical contact and advances appear to be the primary reason
for sexual harassment complaints
• Sexually colored remarks though appear to be casual, can be
perceived as sexually oppressive
• Comparatively easy-going work environments may result in
employees behaving casually, with the possibility that this could
be perceived as provocative

17. E&Y Survey: Jan to April 2015

18. E&Y Survey: Jan to April 2015
• Did not have an Internal Complaints
Committee [ICC] after the enactment of The
Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace
[Prevention, Prohibition, & Redressal] Act,
2013.
• Have not conducted training for ICC members
after constitution of Committee

19. E&Y Survey: Jan to April 2015
• Are not aware that ICC needs to file an Annual
Report pertaining to each calendar year
• Said that malicious complaints related to sexual
harassment increase post appraisals or
performance assessments

20. E&Y Survey: Jan to April 2015
• Are not aware of the penal clause for non-
compliance of constituting an ICC
• Have not displayed at conspicuous places, the
penal consequences of sexual harassment

22. Video Debrief?
• What parts of this situation might be sexual
harassment?
• If you were faced with this situation, what would you
do?
• Who is the one that carries the maximum responsibility
to ensure that this situation does not recurs in the
future?

23. Whose Responsibility?
The prevention/
elimination of harassment is
EVERYONE’S
Responsibility
HR Function’s responsibility is
to create awareness around it

24. Law & Prevention of Sexual
Harassment

25. Video Debrief
• What is the appropriate law in India? The Sexual Harassment of
Women at Workplace [Prevention, Prohibition, & Redressal] Act, 2013.
• What is sexual harassment? Sexual harassment is a type of sexual
discrimination in the workplace. It includes unwelcome sexual
advances, requests for sexual favors, and sexual conduct that is directed
toward a person because of gender.
• Who will come under the definition of employee under this Act?
Employee means any person employed at a workplace for any work on
regular, temporary, ad hoc, or daily wage basis, either directly or
through an agent, including a contractor, with or without the knowledge
of the principal employer, whether for remuneration or not, or working
on a voluntary basis or otherwise, whether the terms of employment are
express or implied and includes a co-worker, a contract worker,
probationer, trainee, apprentice or called by any such other name.

26. Video Debrief
• Will domestic workers be covered by this act? Yes. The Act defines a
domestic worker as a woman who is employed to do household work for
remuneration in cash or kind, either directly or through any agency on a
temporary, permanent, part time or full time basis, but does not include any
member of the family of the employer.
• What would constitute sexual harassment? Sexual harassment includes any
one or more of the following unwelcome acts or behavior [whether directly or
by implication] – namely:
• Physical contact and advances; or
• A demand or request for sexual favors; or
• Making sexually colored remarks; or
• Showing pornography; or
• Any other unwelcome physical, verbal, or non-verbal
conduct of sexual nature
• What can I do if I think I am being harassed? There are several strategies to
consider in responding to sexual harassment. The simplest is a direct response,
which is usually the most effective way to confront harassment.

27. As Managers You Have a Choice
• Be aware, and behave, or be the next news story or worst still
the next case in the law court
• For lady managers, the choice is being discreet as to what can
be a genuine harassment vis-à-vis a malicious or deliberate
complaint to get back at someone
• Complaints that prove to be malicious in intent can lead to
equally sever punishment as loss of job for women employees
• Your responsibility is also to make others aware of what can
construe as sexual harassment behavior
• Finally you are also responsible to create a safe work
environment for yourself and your colleagues

28. How to create a Safe Environment?
THE BUILDING BLOCKS FOR A SAFE ENVIRONMNET
RESPECT & PRACTICE EQUALITY & FAIRNESS
RESPECT DIFFERENCES &
PREFERENCES OF ALL KINDS
RESPECT DIVERSITY
CREATE A RESPECTFUL
WORKPLACE BY
MAKING PEOPLE

29. How to Stop Disrespectful Behavior?
S
T
O
P

30. Source
T
O
P
The source of the disrespectful behavior has
the responsibility to stop behaving in such a
manner.
What about rules, regulations, policies and
procedures? The HR Function must ensure
that adequate deterrents are available to
provide negative reinforcement to the
source.

31. S
Target
O
P
The target must confront the
Harassment / harasser!
If the target is offended by other’s
actions or words, he/ she needs to
let them know and ask them to stop.

32. S
Target
O
P
Consider this:
How can this person correct his or her
behavior if he or she is unaware of its
impact?
The source of the disrespectful behavior may
not even know that his or her behavior is
offensive to us.

33. S
T
Observer
P
Those who observe disrespectful or
harassing behavior have a responsibility to
stop it when it occurs; and one who notices
such is NEVER an innocent bystander!
It is simply the right thing to do.

34. S
T
O
Person in authority
Every person in authority has a duty
to keep the workplace free from
offensive and harassing behavior.
Each person in authority is crucial to
creating a respectful workplace.

35. Source
Target
Observer
Person in authority

36. Care about WHAT you say…
HOW you say it--
Before you SAY it!
So

37. Activity: FGD on Respect
• Break up into groups
• In each group there should be at most 1or 2 boys and at most 8 girls.
In case there are no boys in a group 1 or 2 girls will volunteer to play
the role of facilitators.
• The girls will form a panel while the 1 or 2 boys / girls will be
facilitators.
• The facilitators will facilitate a discussion on the connotation of the
word ‘Respect’.
• While the discussion is on one of the facilitators will take detailed
notes of what is being said by each panelist.
• Post the discussion the group gathers together to create a presentation.
• Each group presents the findings of the FGD to the larger group.