How Can Women in a Small Office Legally Address Sexual Harassment Without Proof?

Incident at a Recruitment Consultancy

This incident happened to a friend of mine, a lady working in a recruitment consultancy. The CEO of the consultancy, who is also the owner, asked her to stay back after business hours, saying he had to discuss a few things. He asked her to close the door as everyone had left. She didn't suspect his nature as his behavior was normal during office hours. Once he started having a normal conversation with her, he was touching his private part. My friend felt extremely uncomfortable and left the place.

The next day, she went to the office and discussed the incident with her colleague, who agreed that something similar had happened to her and two other female colleagues. Due to fear, they had not discussed this issue with anyone else. The organization currently has a total strength of 5 people, of which 4 are women. During their discussion, they also realized that whenever their CEO interviewed a female candidate, the interview lasted for at least an hour, whereas for a male candidate, it was hardly 10 to 15 minutes. All the women employees have decided to resign from this organization, although they do not want him to go scot-free.

Is there anything they could do legally? I had asked them to file a police complaint, but they said they do not have any proof, and he has not touched them. They also contacted previous female employees who have resigned, and they agreed that they had experienced similar situations and preferred to resign rather than endure the mental trauma.

Is there any suggestion that would help them?

Ask your friend to report the matter to the police. Even if there is no proof, the police are bound to register a complaint and investigate the matter. Such incidents must be dealt with an iron hand so that these mentally sick people (owner) do not dare to do it again.

Such employers need to be punished severely as they are spoiling the image of other CEOs and companies employing women. Because of one bad person, others are suffering for not making any mistakes or sins.

In medical terminology, he is addicted to sex; he enjoys the company of females and feels happy doing such rubbish things. It's all about human psychology, which we need to understand.

Also, I would like to request lady workers to understand their male colleagues' nature, behavior, attitude, and much more, and not to work alone after office hours or entertain their requests (which may be anything). Complaining once everything is over has no meaning. A female can bring a male under control if that female is more stable than the male.

Request your friend to register a complaint against that CEO at the nearest police station as early as possible.

To my knowledge, we should publish or release pictures of such a psycho in various forums online. Let people come to know about such individuals and learn a lesson.

To stop someone from making mistakes, punishment should be executed in such a way that others should not even dare to do the same in their dreams.

With profound regards,

First of all, many congratulations to your friend for speaking her mind and not adjusting to the situation, which many females are forced to do. Here is what you can do: you can file a complaint with the National Commission for Women. I'm sending the link as well if your friend would wish to register the complaint online; the facility is available. The benefit here is that the involvement of an NGO makes it difficult for the culprit to get away without punishment.

Procedure for Filing a Complaint

The procedure is as follows; more information can be found at this link [NCW::Online Complaints](http://ncw.nic.in) (link updated to site home) ([Search On Cite](https://www.citehr.com/results.php?q=NCW Online Complaints) | [Search On Google](https://www.google.com/search?q=NCW Online Complaints))

The Complaints and Counseling Cell of the commission processes all the complaints, whether received orally, written, or suo moto under Section 10 of the NCW Act. The complaints received relate to domestic violence, harassment, dowry, torture, desertion, bigamy, rape, refusal to register FIR, cruelty by husband, deprivation, gender discrimination, and sexual harassment in the workplace.

How Complaints Are Handled

The complaints are dealt with as follows:
- Investigations by the police are expedited and monitored.
- The matters are brought to the notice of various state authorities to facilitate action.
- Family disputes are resolved or compromised through counseling.
- As per the 1997 Supreme Court Judgment on Sexual Harassment at the Workplace (Vishakha Vs. State of Rajasthan), every employer is required to provide effective complaint procedures and remedies, including the award of compensation to women victims. In sexual harassment complaints, the concerned organization is urged to expedite cases, and the disposal is monitored.
- For serious crimes, the Commission constitutes an Inquiry Committee, which makes spot inquiries, examines witnesses, collects evidence, and submits the report with recommendations. The implementation of the report is monitored by the NCW. The Commission has powers to summon the accused, witnesses, and records to facilitate inquiry.

Regards,

Thank you so much for your valuable time and reply. I would certainly advise my friend to lodge a complaint ASAP. A very special thank you for having given detailed information.

Regards.