Lok Sabha Question No. 392 (STARRED), answered on 2019-07-19
Subject: Harassment of Women at Workplaces
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Rahul Ramesh Shewale, Bhartruhari Mahtab

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO. 392 TO BE ANSWERED ON 19.07.2019

## HARASSMENT OF WOMEN AT WORKPLACES

392.     SHRI RAHUL RAMESH SHEWALE: SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB:

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  cases  of  harassment  of  women  at  workplaces,  particularly  of  those performing  shift  duties  in  Central  Government  Offices  such  as  Hospitals,  have increased in the country during each of the last three years and the current year;
- (b) if  so,  the  number  of  such  cases  reported  in  the  country  during  the  said  period, State/UT-wise;
- (c) whether  the  Provisions  of  Protection  of  Women  from  Sexual  Harassment  at Workplace  (Prevention,  Prohibition  and  Redressal)  Act,  2013  are  insufficient  to provide  safe  and  secure  work  environment  to  women  in  the  said  offices  in  the country, if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor; and
- (d) the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  protect  women  from  harassment  at workplaces and to inculcate a sense of respect in men towards women?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

- (a) to (d) : A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  LOK  SABHA  STARRED  QUESTION  NO.392  for 19.07.2019 BY SRI RAHUL RAMESH SHEWALE AND SRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB REGARDING 'HARASSMENT OF WOMEN  AT WORKPLACES'

- (a) to (c): Safety and security of women in the country is of utmost priority for the Government. Keeping this in view, the Government of India has enacted The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (SH Act) which aims to provide protection against sexual  harassment  of  women  at  workplace  and  for  the  prevention  and  redressal  of  complaints  of sexual  harassment  and  for  matters  connected  therewith  or  incidental  thereto.    The  Act  covers  all women, irrespective of their age, employment status or nature of work (whether working in shifts or otherwise).

The  SH  Act  is  a  comprehensive  legislation.  It  casts  an  obligation  upon  employers  of  all workplaces,  including  Central  Government  offices  and  hospitals,  to  constitute  Internal  Committees (ICs) for receiving complaints of sexual harassment of women at such workplaces. Further, this Act casts an obligation on District Officers notified by the appropriate governments as defined under the Act, to constitute Local Committees (LCs) in all districts for receiving complaints from organizations having less than 10 workers and the complaints against employers themselves.

As per Sections 21 and 22 of the SH Act, ICs and LCs are required to prepare annual reports in prescribed format in each calendar year and submit the same to the employer and the District Officer. The employer shall include in the annual report of his organisation the number of cases filed, if any, and their disposal under this Act or where no such report is required to be prepared, intimate such number of cases, if any, to the District Officer. The District Officer  shall forward a brief report on the annual reports so received to the State Government. As such, no centralized data relating to cases of harassment of women at workplaces is maintained.

In addition various provisions such as section 354, 354A and 509 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) are also applicable to the offences of sexual nature, including sexual harassment.

As per National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, a total number of 57, 119 and 142 cases were registered during 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively under the category insult to the modesty of women at office premises.  The State/UT-wise details are at Annexure-I. The latest data available with NCRB pertains to the year 2016.

- (d): The  Ministry  of  Women  and  Child  Development  issues  advisories  from  time  to  time  to  all  State Governments/ UT  Administrations,  Ministries/Departments  of  Government  of  India  and  business associations including Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) etc., to ensure  effective  implementation  of  the  Sexual  Harassment  of  Women  at  Workplace  (Prevention, Prohibition  and  Redressal)  Act,  2013.  Further,  all  Ministries  of  Government  of  India  and  State governments/UT  administrations  have  been  requested  to  organize  workshops  and  awareness programs in their Departments/ Offices for sensitizing employees about matters of sexual harassment at  workplace  and  related  legal  provisions  and  redressal  mechanisms.  The  Ministry  of  Women  and Child  Development  has  regularly  campaigned  through  audio/  video  spots  in  media  for  enhancing awareness about various legislations including the SH Act. Apart from the above, in order to create widespread  awareness  about  the  Act  across  the  country,  the  Ministry  of  Women  and  Child Development has identified a pool of resource institutions to provide capacity building programs such as trainings, workshops etc. on the issue of sexual harassment at workplace.

ANNEXURE-I

STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  &  (b)  TO  LOK  SABHA  STARRED QUESTION  NO.392  for 19.07.2019  BY  SRI  RAHUL  RAMESH  SHEWALE  AND  SRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB REGARDING 'HARASSMENT OF WOMEN  AT WORKPLACES'

| Sl. No.   | States/UTs        |   At Office Premises |   At Office Premises |   At Office Premises |
|-----------|-------------------|----------------------|----------------------|----------------------|
| Sl. No.   | States/UTs        |                 2014 |                 2015 |                 2016 |
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh    |                    3 |                    3 |                    7 |
| 2         | Arunachal Pradesh |                    0 |                    0 |                    0 |
| 3         | Assam             |                    0 |                    1 |                    0 |
| 4         | Bihar             |                    0 |                    0 |                   73 |
| 5         | Chhattisgarh      |                    0 |                    0 |                    4 |
| 6         | Goa               |                    1 |                    4 |                    1 |
| 7         | Gujarat           |                    1 |                    1 |                    0 |
| 8         | Haryana           |                    1 |                    1 |                    3 |
| 9         | Himachal Pradesh  |                    0 |                    1 |                    0 |
| 10        | Jammu & Kashmir   |                    0 |                    0 |                    0 |
| 11        | Jharkhand         |                    0 |                    0 |                    1 |
| 12        | Karnataka         |                    3 |                    5 |                    9 |
| 13        | Kerala            |                    6 |                    0 |                    8 |
| 14        | Madhya Pradesh    |                    1 |                    1 |                    1 |
| 15        | Maharashtra       |                   10 |                   27 |                   11 |
| 16        | Manipur           |                    0 |                    0 |                    0 |
| 17        | Meghalaya         |                    0 |                    0 |                    0 |
| 18        | Mizoram           |                    0 |                    0 |                    0 |
| 19        | Nagaland          |                    0 |                    1 |                    0 |
| 20        | Odisha            |                    8 |                    0 |                    0 |
| 21        | Punjab            |                    0 |                    0 |                    0 |
| 22        | Rajasthan         |                    0 |                    0 |                    0 |
| 23        | Sikkim            |                    0 |                    0 |                    0 |
| 24        | Tamil Nadu        |                    2 |                    0 |                    0 |
| 25        | Telangana         |                    5 |                   32 |                    8 |
| 26        | Tripura           |                    0 |                    0 |                    0 |
| 27        | Uttar Pradesh     |                    0 |                    0 |                    4 |
| 28        | Uttarakhand       |                    0 |                    0 |                    0 |
| 29        | West Bengal       |                    4 |                    6 |                    0 |
| 30        | A & N Islands     |                    0 |                    0 |                    0 |
| 31        | Chandigarh        |                    0 |                    0 |                    2 |
| 32        | D&N Haveli        |                    0 |                    0 |                    0 |
| 33        | Daman & Diu       |                    0 |                    0 |                    0 |
| 34        | Delhi UT          |                   11 |                   36 |                    9 |
| 35        | Lakshadweep       |                    0 |                    0 |                    1 |
| 36        | Puducherry        |                    1 |                    0 |                    0 |
| TOTAL     | (ALL INDIA)       |                   57 |                  119 |                  142 |

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