Introduction
Responsible conduct of any business presupposes
harassment-free workplaces. There
is a lot of evidence that progressive employers
across the globe take many proactive
measures to create and maintain harassmentfree
workplaces—sexual harassment being
the most serious one they address.Specifically in the Indian context, employer responsibility has now been codified in ‘The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013, (‘Sexual Harassment Act’)’, which has been made effective on April 23, 2013 by way of publication in the Gazette of India.
This Act aims at providing protection and redressal to women against sexual harassment at the workplace. Sexual harassment is considered as a violation of the fundamental right of a woman to equality, as guaranteed under Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution of India (‘Constitution’) and her right to life and to live with dignity, as per Article 21 of the Constitution. It has also been considered as a violation of a right to practice or to carry out any occupation, trade or business under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution, which includes a right to a safe environment free from harassment.
Head Consulting AAYAAM, Pune, India,
with more than 3 decades
Proprietor AAYAAM