How Can We Stop Sexual Harassment Complaints from Being Ignored at Work?

Remedy for Trivializing Sexual Harassment Complaints?

What is the "remedy" when sexual harassment complaints filed by aggrieved women complainants are trivialized, they are asked to keep quiet, their harassment continues unstopped, and no redressal is in sight?

If women complainants, including employees at the workplace, dare to pursue redressal, they face flak; they are mocked, maligned, and suffer a deep sense of shame and ridicule. All this happens when they name the sexual harassment behavior and the harasser-perpetrator, fearing reprisals.

Nagging Question: What Can Be Done?

What can she do? What can employers and management do? What can colleagues and employees do? What can internal committees do?

Well-considered and thoughtful solutions offered shall go a long way in resolving these issues.

Dear Mr. Harsh Kumar Sharan, if the aggrieved woman feels that her sexual harassment complaint is trivialized, she can write a letter to the MD of her company for intervention by RPAD. She must maintain proper records of this letter. If the MD also does not intervene, they become a party to the alleged crime, and she can file a complaint against the MD at the police station. She can even approach the National Commission for Women (NCW). The NCW, on her behalf, can write a letter to the MD. Their letter cannot be taken lightly, and they can even approach the police to file an FIR against the MD.

Approaching NGOs for Support

If the charges of sexual harassment are severe and the company is not taking them seriously, she can approach government-approved NGOs that support women's causes.

Challenges Faced by Women

While the suggestions above may seem ideal on paper, many women choose to remain silent due to various reasons. Social stigma and the potential challenges they may face in fighting for their cause are significant barriers. Bringing up the issue of sexual harassment could also jeopardize the employment of the female employee. The #MeToo movement serves as a powerful testament to the challenges faced.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Dear Harsh Kumar Sharan,

Absolute advice, perfect advice by Dinesh Divekar. However, what I suppose, you are an external member in the IC or you are an advising agency to the company. Being an external member or an advising agency, you are bound to see that the written complaint(s) received by the IC are disposed of carefully with due process. Even inappropriate behavior, whether verbal or non-verbal, of a sexual nature is considered as sexual harassment, which goes without saying. Everything is trivializing, and everything is non-trivializing when it comes to women's dignity.

Confidentiality in Handling Complaints

The most important aspect that often gets overlooked when a complainant approaches the Internal Committee (IC) is confidentiality. Once confidentiality is compromised, 80% of the battle is already lost.

Constitution of the Internal Committee

The constitution of the IC needs to be done very accurately, with members chosen in a way that employees can trust. While it is advisable to ask the complainant to keep quiet about the case, pressurizing them to do so is not appropriate. As a temporary measure, the complainant can be allowed to work from home while the case is being investigated.

Actions if the IC Fails to Act

If the IC has not taken relevant actions within the defined time frame as per the POSH Act, the complainant can follow these steps:

- Contact the company's legal counsel with a copy of the complaint to seek redressal. If there is no response, proceed to the next step.
- Contact the local committee formed at the district level.
- File an FIR against the IC and LC if they do not respond.

Please feel free to reach out to me for any POSH-related matters, POSH training requests, IC formation, or POSH policy formulations.

Thanks,

Megha Mehrotra

POSH Enabler/Senior POSH Trainer (PAN-India presence)/POSH External Member for multiple companies, schools

Corporate Jungle Raj: A Practical Approach

I am a woman and an experienced HR professional who works closely with the Legal and POSH Enforcement Teams. I have terminated a dozen employees in my 15-year-long career.

Practical Advice

Please seek an out-of-court settlement of the case by informal arbitration/intervention through informal police/social counsellors. Enforce HR policy to send aggrieved and alleged person(s) on indefinite leave until the matter is resolved. Societal reputation is very important to a woman employee as well as the corporates. This method works—I have handled 16 such cases amicably, and there were never further complaints.

If an informal channel doesn't work, please proceed towards legal and justice forums, as prescribed by our HR brethren above.

Sensitive matters require sensitive decisions!

I think this is a very practical challenge that may occur in any organization. I second Dinesh's approach and would like to add that documentation and recording of all instances, including escalation to the MD, should be kept intact and highly confidential.

These complaints can just be washed off easily by corporates using money and power. Nothing can beat evidence and truth if all communication is tracked and kept safe to be produced when challenged.

Proactive Steps for Sexual Harassment Committees

As a suggestion, I want to add that a proactive step will be, while the sexual harassment committee is set up within the organization, the members, in the interest of such precedents, should include points in the committee on how trivializing sexual harassment complaints should be strictly dealt with.

HR should also take responsibility for sensitizing the team every now and then, facilitating them to raise questions and provide responsible answers to these, in the interest of protecting the organizational climate.

Dear Friends, I revisited this discussion today and came to the below understanding.

The fact is that the complainant woman is aggrieved by the inaction of the Internal Committee.

Appeal

I would like to reproduce Section 18, which deals with appeals verbatim:

1. Any person aggrieved by the recommendations made under sub-section (2) of section 13 or under clause (i) or clause (ii) of sub-section (3) of section 13 or subsection (1) or sub-section (2) of section 14 or section 17 or non-implementation of such recommendations may prefer an appeal to the court or tribunal in accordance with the provisions of the service rules applicable to the person or, where no such service rules exist, then, without prejudice to provisions contained in any other law for the time being in force, the person aggrieved may prefer an appeal in such a manner as may be prescribed.

2. The appeal under sub-section (1) shall be preferred within a period of ninety days of the recommendations.

This means that if either the accuser or accused is aggrieved by the action (or inaction) of the IC/LC, he or she can launch an appeal to the state-level industrial tribunal, which has a district officer dealing with such appeals and the power to punish non-compliance with the Act.

Furthermore, the District Officer is empowered to take necessary measures for the rights of women as per Section 20 of the Act.

Under these circumstances, the complainant woman is advised to prepare for an appeal before the District Officer and not to approach the National Commission for Women (NCW) or any NGO.

This appeal shall be prepared within 190 days (90 days for the completion of the inquiry + 10 for submitting recommendations + 90 days for preparing the appeal).

I hope the learned members will agree with the above.

With work from home being extended by many companies till the end of 2020, companies must also consider taking actions to ensure the safety of their women employees. In doing so, companies could consider the following suggestions:

1. POSH Policy Considerations

The POSH policy of the company should clearly state that work from home would be classified as a "workplace," and the definition of "sexual harassment" should include any verbal/non-verbal conduct by electronic means. This will avoid any ambiguity regarding the applicability of POSH.

2. Online Reporting Mechanism

Create an online reporting mechanism, such as a virtual mailbox or a dedicated email address, to receive and forward complaints to the ICC.

3. Virtual Awareness Programs and Hearings

Hold awareness programs and ICC hearings virtually.

For a legal analysis and the applicability of the POSH Act in a work-from-home environment, along with more practical suggestions for corporates, please read my detailed article here. https://www.livelaw.in/columns/from-...act2013-160311

Handling Harassment Complaints

Every organization has a separate committee with internal members and an external member forming a division to handle this. This is managed in the most confidential manner, and a detailed investigation is conducted to determine if the complaint is genuine. If anyone is found guilty, appropriate action is taken by the committee, including the management committee.

All of this is handled confidentially to prevent any news from leaking to the outside world. Many times, complaints are found to be made out of grudge or as a form of revenge, emphasizing the need for a fair trial to ensure that only the guilty party is punished if found so. Therefore, an external member is always a part of the committee to ensure decisions are made appropriately.

Investigation Process During Harassment Cases

During a harassment case investigation, some organizations may temporarily ask the complainant and the accused to stay home or be given leave during this period. Such investigations are meant to be resolved quickly by collecting evidence from internal sources, CCTV camera recordings, or information from the system.