Sexual harassment of women at workplace

Ridhima Gupta
Today women constitute a significant part of workforce but the status of women has not improved in the workplace and they are still being harassed. Workplace is considered as a second-home for employees.But women is safe nowhere-neither in homes nor in street and not in workplace. Sexual harassment is of international-concern and is increasing day-by-day.
According to survey-conducted by Oxfam India titled”Sexual Harassment at Workplaces in India 2011-2012 there is high incidence of sexual harassment-both in the organized and unorganized-sectors.”
Women suffer more sexual harassment at workplace due to various societal and organizational reasons. Patriarchal society is the key-reason for violence against women. Patriarchal attitudes are bred in the family through socialization-process. This is the reason why men consider themselves supreme and women an object.With this mindset when man enters organization they sexually harass women considering her weak and a sex-object.
Sexual harassment has negative consequences-short and long term-on victims/other employees in the workplace/organization, etc. Victims of sexual harassment suffer various-physical/psychological problems which lead to absenteeism/low productivity. In acute-cases victims commit suicide. The major problem woman faces after sexual harassment is from society. A woman has to face the negative-attitude of the society who considers her as the culprit for being sexually harassed. If she files a complaint then her character comes under question. Other employees working in the same workplace undergo the sense of fear/psychological problems. If it is not taken up seriously by the organization then employees form negative-attitude towards the organization resulting in lower job-satisfaction and turnover, hence, causing loss of valuable-employees thus incurring huge-costs for enterprise. Organizations can succeed only if the employers provide safe working-conditions to its employees but if nothing is done by management to overcome this problem then it hampers reputation/image of the company in the society and business-relationships as well.
Sexual harassment against women at workplace is a hazard encountered in the entire-world, so there is a need for genuine-commitment from all the members of society-government/ employers/employees/NGO’s/educational-institutions/media, etc-to come together to eradicate this deep-rooted problem. The employer has a major-responsibility to provide safe-working environment for its employees. They need to formulate policies to combat sexual harassment in workplace thus developing climate of dignity/respect for its female-employees. Grievance-cell should be formed/counselor should be employed to take-up this problem within the organization and solve it immediately and impartially. Stern-actions should be taken against the harasser so that it is a lesson for others. The main problem for overcoming sexual harassment is that no-one speaks about it, thus, giving encouragement to the harasser. So first step by employees should be to speak-out and discuss it so that effective-steps can be-taken to prevent/control this menace. Female-employees should report a complaint to the grievance-cell/police/women-commission so that the act of the culprit does not go unpunished. Employees of the organization should be vigilant and not mute-spectators, thus, actively take part in eradicating this problem. Government should make sure that organizations follow the guidelines framed in the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. In-case they are not following stern action must be taken against them. Educational-institutions can play a major role in imbibing moral-values among the youths so that their mind-set can be changed and they stop seeing woman as sex-object. Sex-education should be included in the curriculum and various-workshops/awareness-programmes should be organized’-so that students know about the possible-consequences of sexual harassment of women. This may trim-down present rate of incidence of sexual harassment. NGO’s can facilitate in reducing this hazard by assisting-government/organizations in creating-awareness/training employees to make their workplace free from sexual harassment and can keep check-on such incidents and help the victims. Media is the most important and strong-tool for creating mass-awareness by organizing various-seminars/conferences/talk-shows/news/short-films/TV-serials,etc.
Swami Vivekananda once said, “There is no chance for the welfare of the humanity unless the condition of women is improved: it is not possible for a bird to fly on only one-wing.”No nation can develop and be prosperous until women are safe and given equal rights. Sexual harassment against woman at workplace is a shame on humanity and serious offence which endangers human rights/gender-equality/dignity of a woman. There is a need to break the silence over this issue. Government efforts alone cannot achieve the goal unless everyone contributes willingly and actively to overcome this menace.

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