Lok Sabha Question No. 1846 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-06
Subject: SHe-Box portal
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Smt. Bijuli Kalita Medhi, Dr. Nishikant Dubey, Shri Jashubhai Bhilubhai Rathva, Shri Chavda Vinod Lakhamshi, Shri Naba Charan Majhi, Smt. Shobhanaben Mahendrasinh Baraiya, Smt. Kamlesh Jangde, Shri Vijay Baghel, Shri Ganesh Singh, Shri Damodar Agrawal, Smt. Smita Uday Wagh, Smt. Kamaljeet Sehrawat, Dr. Bhola Singh, Shri Manoj Tiwari

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1846

TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.12.2024

## SHe-BOX PORTAL

## 1846 . SHRI GANESH SINGH:

SHRI CHAVDA VINOD LAKHAMSHI:

SHRI JASHUBHAI BHILUBHAI RATHVA:

SHRI DAMODAR AGRAWAL:

SMT. SMITA UDAY WAGH:

SHRI VIJAY BAGHEL:

DR. BHOLA SINGH:

SHRI MANOJ TIWARI:

SMT. KAMALJEET SEHRAWAT:

SMT. KAMLESH JANGDE:

SMT. SHOBHANABEN MAHENDRASINH BARAIYA:

SMT. BIJULI KALITA MEDHI:

DR. NISHIKANT DUBEY:

SHRI NABA CHARAN MAJHI:

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

- (a) the manner in which the newly launched SHe-Box portal aims to streamline the process of addressing complaints of sexual harassment at workplace, and the facilities provided by the said portal to ensure timely redressal of complaints for women;
- (b) the  details  of  unique  functionalities  of  the  SHe-Box  platform  for  women  to register and track complaints thereof;
- (c) the extent to which the said portal is accessible for semi-literate/illiterate and rural women;
- (d) the manner in which SHe-Box contributes to creating a safe work environment for women across various sectors;
- (e) the measures taken to ensure privacy and security of information shared by users on the SHe-Box platform; and
- (f) the number of complaints resolved through the SHe-Box portal in Chhattisgarh so far?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (c): 'The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013' (SH Act) mandates the Appropriate Government to monitor the  implementation  of  the  Act  and  maintain  data  on  number  of  cases  filed  and disposed of under SH Act. It provides for constitution of Internal Committee (IC) where the number of employees is 10 or more and also mandates for constitution of Local Committee (LC) by the District Officer notified under the Act to deal with the cases of workplaces where the number of employees is less than 10 or when the complaint is against the employer itself. The Act also mandates the employers to sensitize workers about  the  provisions  of  the  Act  at  regular  intervals.  The  Act  covers  all  women irrespective  of  their  age  or  profession,  whether  in  public  or  private  sector  or  in organized or unorganized sector.

Till recently, there was no centralised data base available to access the details of IC/ LC and number of complaints received and disposed of under SH Act.  The SHe-Box portal, launched by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, provides a publicly available centralised repository of information related to ICs and LCs formed across the  country,  whether  in  government  or  private  sector.  This  also  provides  a  singlewindow access to every woman, irrespective of her work status, whether working in organized  or  unorganized,  private  or  public  sector  to  file  complaint  of  sexual harassment at the workplace and track the status of such complaints. It also ensures that complaints are automatically sent to the IC of the workplace concerned, thereby streamlining the process and ensuring timely redressal. Nobody  except  the Chairperson of the IC/ LC can see the particulars of complainant and contents of the complaint and other proceedings regarding it except the final disposal order. Further, 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.

Additionally,  the  portal  enables  workplaces  to  update  information  regarding  other compliances under the Act. This includes submission of the annual reports, details of awareness/ training programs for employees and IC members, etc.

The portal is designed as a user-friendly and easily accessible platform. The Ministry is  actively  providing  awareness  and  training  to  the  stakeholders  to  help  women navigate it. Making available the SHe-Box in regional languages is part of the design of the project, so as to make it accessible to women across the country.

(d) & (e): Any woman facing sexual harassment at workplace or any other person on her  behalf  can  register  their  complaint  through  this  portal.  Once  a  complaint  is submitted to the 'SHe-Box', it will be directly sent to the IC/  LC concerned, as the case may be, having jurisdiction to take action into the matter.

It is a major step towards women empowerment by ensuring them a safer workplace and an easy access to a redressal mechanism. This platform provides a secure and confidential way  for  women  to  report  instances  of workplace  related sexual harassment  and  fostering  a  culture  of  accountability.  Portal  not  only  helps  in addressing  immediate  concerns  but  contribute  to  long-term  cultural  changes  in workplaces, making them more inclusive and supportive for women and it will create an additional element of deterrence against potential harassers.

The  portal  has  features  to  ensure  confidentiality  of  the  complainant  and  protect personal information by making complaints contents visible only to the chairperson of the Internal Committee (IC) or the Local Committee (LC), thereby providing a secure environment  for  women  to  report  incidents  without  fear  of  exposure  or  retaliation. However,  the  pendency  of  cases  would  be  visible  to  the  Nodal  Officer  of  that workplace so that he/ she can monitor the progress of complaints at his/ her level.

(f):       The  complaint  registration  system  of  SHe-Box  is  live  with  effect  from  19th October, 2024 after onboarding most of Ministries/ Departments of Central Government as well as State Government / UT Administration.  No complaint has so far received from the State of Chhattisgarh.

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