Lok Sabha Question No. 5628 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-27
Subject: Safety and Protection of Women in Film Industry
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Anto Antony

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UN-STARRED QUESTION NO. 5628

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 27.03.2026

## SAFETY AND PROTECTION OF WOMEN IN FILM LNDUSTRY

## 5628. SHRI ANTO ANTONY:

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

- (a) whether the Government has taken any specific steps to ensure the safety and protection of women working in the film industry, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether there has been an increase in cases of harassment against women in the said industry during the last five years, if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the number of cases registered relating to harassment of women in the said industry during the last five years, year-wise;
- (d) whether  the  Government  has  constituted  any  committees  during  the  last  five  years  to examine issues relating to women in the said industry, if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) whether any action has been taken by the Government on the recommendations of such committees, if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to  (e):        The  Central  Government gives highest priority to ensuring safety and security of women  and  has  taken  several  legislative  and  policy  interventions.  Keeping  this  in  view,  the Government  has  enacted  'The  Sexual  Harassment  of  Women  at  Workplace  (Prevention, Pr ohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013' (PoSH Act) which aims to provide protection to women against sexual harassment at workplace and for the prevention and redressal of complaints related to it. The Act covers all women, irrespective of their age, employment status or nature of work whether working in public or private, organised or unorganised sector. The Act casts an obligation upon  employers  of  all  workplaces,  public  or  private,  to  provide  a  safe  and  secure  working environment free from sexual harassment, whereby every employer is mandated to constitute an Internal Committee (IC) where the number of employees/ workers is more than ten. Similarly, the Appropriate Government is authorized to constitute Local Committee (LC) in every district to receive complaints from organizations having less than ten workers or if the complaint is against the employer himself.

The responsibility  of  the  implementation  of  the  Act  at  District  and  State  levels  rests  with  the appropriate  Government  to  monitor  the  implementation  of  the  Act  and  maintain  data  on  the number of cases filed and disposed of in respect of all cases of sexual harassment at workplace, which are established, owned, controlled or wholly or substantially financed by funds provided directly or indirectly by the State.

Under the Mission Shakti Scheme of Ministry of Women and Child Development a holistic and victim-centric approach is adopted to strengthen safety, security and empowerment of women. Key initiatives of the Scheme include:

- i. One Stop Centre Scheme: Operational since 2015 to provide integrated services such as medical  aid,  legal  assistance,  temporary  shelter,  police  facilitation  and  psycho-social counselling. 926 One Stop Centers (OSCs) are operational across the country and have assisted over 13.37 lakh women up to 31 December, 2025.
- ii. Women Help Desks: 15,049 set  up  in  police  stations,  of  which  14,363  are  headed  by women police officers.
- iii. Women Helpline-181 and Emergency Response Support System (ERSS-112) providing emergency and support services. The Women Helpline has handled over 2.88 crore calls and assisted over 99.09 lakh women.

The Government, through institutions like the National Commission for Women (NCW) and its counterparts in States have been spreading awareness through seminars, workshops, audio- visual, print and electronic media etc. to sensitize the people about the safety and security of women and also about various provisions of the legislation and policies etc. Employers are required to organize workshops and awareness programs at regular intervals for sensitizing the employees with the provisions of the Act and orientation programmes for members of the Internal Committee in the manner as may be prescribed.

The Ministry has launched the 'Mission Shakti Portal' with all functional features on January 22, 2025.  This  Portal  aims  to  enhance  accessibility  of  various  government  services  for  women, establish quality mechanisms for rescue, protection, and rehabilitation, and build the capacity of functionaries  and  duty  holders  under  various  schemes  and  legislations.  Further,  the  SHe-Box Portal provides a centralised platform to file and track complaints related to workplace sexual harassment under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.

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