Lok Sabha Question No. 4320 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-20
Subject: She-Box Complaints
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Sanjay Uttamrao Deshmukh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UN- STARRED QUESTION NO. 4320 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.12.2024

## She-BOX COMPLAINTS

4320.  SHRI SANJAY UTTAMRAO DESHMUKH:

Will the Minister of Women and Child Development be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the complaints of sexual harassment been registered through the She-Box portal specifically from Yavatmal and Washim districts in Maharashtra along with their current status;
- (b) whether  any  steps  have  been  taken  by  the  Government  to  strengthen  the functioning  of  Internal  Complaints  Committees  (lCCs)  to  ensure  workplace safety in the said districts; and
- (c) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR)

(a): The SHe-Box portal was recently launched by the Ministry of Women and Child Development  (MWCD)  duly  encompassing  various  provisions of 'the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013' (SH Act). As on 19.12.2024, a total of 18 complaints have been submitted on this portal. The District Nodal Officer (DNO) and the Local Committee (LC) of Yavatmal and Washim districts of Maharashtra are registered on the SHe-Box portal. However, no complaints have been received till now from the State of Maharashtra.

(b) and (c): The SHe- Box portal provides a publicly available, online and centralized repository of information related to Internal Committees (ICs) and Local Committees (LCs) formed across the country, whether in government or private sector workplaces. The portal includes a feature where complaints registered on it will be automatically forwarded to the IC/ LC of the workplaces concerned within the Central Ministries/ Departments,  States/  UTs  and  those  in  Private  sector.  The  portal  provides  for designating a nodal officer for every workplace who is required to ensure updation of data/ information on a regular basis for real time monitoring of complaints.

SHe-Box is not a mechanism for statutory or regulatory oversight, but an IT aid to provide a centralized online system to facilitate dissemination of information about the ICs and LCs constituted at various workplaces so that any aggrieved woman may file complaint in a secure and hassle free manner and track its progress.  The SH Act mandates the appropriate Government to monitor the implementation of the Act and maintain data on the number of cases filed and disposed of.

In addition, following actions have been taken by the Government of India for effective implementation and raising awareness for SH Act including the functioning of lnternal Committees (lCs) to ensure safety of women at workplaces:

- i. The Ministry of Women and Child Development has issued a Handbook on Sexual  Harassment  of  Women  at  Workplace  (Prevention,  Prohibition  and Redressal) Act, 2013. The Handbook provides information about the Act in an easy-to-use  practical  manner.  The  soft  copy  of  the  Handbook  has  been uploaded on the Ministry's website also for the purposes of mass dissemination and  it  has  also  been  sent  to  Ministers  and  officials  concerned  of  various Ministries/ Departments, State Governments and Union Territory Administrations.
- ii. The Ministry has prepared a training module in collaboration with Institute of Secretariat Training  and Management  (ISTM)  for  training  and  Gender Sensitization programmes of manpower.
- iii. The  Department  of  Personnel  and  Training,  Government  of  India  has  also issued  advisories  time  to  time  to  all  the  Central  Ministries/  Departments  to complete the inquiry in a time bound manner and to include the information related to number of cases filed/ disposed under the SH Act in their annual report.
- iv. Ministry of Women and Child Development being the Nodal Ministry for SH Act observes  the  Enactment  day  of  Sexual  Harassment  Act  every  year  on  its enactment date i.e., 9th December and issues letters/ advisories to all sectors (including  Central  Government/  State  Government/  Private  Bodies/  Trade organization/  Educational  Institutions/  and  other  organizations)  for  effective implementation  of  the  Act  and  also  to  constitute  Internal  Committee/  Local Committee  immediately, in case the same  is not done. The  Ministry continuously engages with the Central Ministries, Departments, Organizations as well as the States/ UTs to disseminate information about the SHe-Box portal so that any woman facing workplace related harassment can avail the services available through the portal.

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