Sexual harassment of women in work place
Introduction
Sexual harassment at workplace hampers women’s constitutional and fundamental rights to equality, justice and dignity. It sabotages a woman’s work performance & progress, affects working environments, results in frustrations & absenteeism. Women across the world have tasted all flavors of life; from the glory and respect which she was ascribed in the Vedic period, to the denial and subordination in the post Vedic period and finally to the struggle for equality, recognition and survival in the contemporary world. But one thing that has been common throughout these phases is the disadvantaged status of the women. Women have been made to face all kinds of violence, physical abuse, denial of right to live, subordination and neglect. The acts of abuses like eve-teasing, molestation, sexual abuse and rape cover both physical and verbal abuses. However, they all are different parts of what is commonly known as sexual harassment or sexual misconduct. The concept like eve-teasing gained nationwide attention in the 1960’s but today eve-teasing has evolved as a huge issue in many metropolitan cities of India. A large number of Indian women have faced or are facing this menace. Another form of violence against women is that of molestation, or what is commonly known as ‘sexual abuse’ or ‘sexual assault’. It is the forcing of sexual behavior by a man over the women. Further, rape is one of the most extreme forms of sexual violence committed against women. It is an act of physical violence and assault which is expressed through sexual means.
Definition of sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment from gender relations perspective and bring out its impact on women. These definitions enumerate that sexual harassment at workplace is an unwanted sexually oriented behavior resulting out of unequal power relations at workplace and it has serious consequences on the employment of women. Moving forward from the understanding of it being an unwanted sexually colored behavior.
The UN Declaration (1993) violence against women as any act of gender-based violence that results in or is likely to result in physical, sexual, or mental harm or suffering to women. It could be threats of such acts, coercion, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life. It includes physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family and in the general community, including battering, sexual abuse of children, dowry-related violence, rape, female genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women, non-spousal violence and violence related to exploitation, sexual harassment and intimidation at work, in educational institutions and elsewhere, trafficking in women, forced prostitution, and violence perpetrated or condoned by the state.
Haspels, Kasim, Thomas and Mckann (2001) define sexual harassment as clear form of gender discrimination based on sex and a manifestation of unequal power relations between men and women. According to them the problem relates not so much to the actual biological differences between men and women rather but to the gender or social roles attributed to men and women in social and economic life, and perceptions about male and female sexuality in society resulting in unbalanced male-female power relationships. Further Haspels et al state that sexual harassment at workplace is a form of gender discrimination because decisions at work are based on gender which is an attributed characteristic rather than on qualifications or job performance of the employee. From this point of view, it can be understood that sexual harassment at workplace is form of gender discrimination targeted towards women. Further it can be stated that sexual harassment is not only discrimination men at work based on gender, but is also a form of gender based violence.
Types of Sexual Harassment
- Eve Teasing
As per the Oxford Dictionary, eve teasing means “the making of unwanted sexual remarks or advances by a man to a woman in a public place.” The concept of eve-teasing gained the nationwide attention in the 1960’s. But today, Eve teasing has evolved as a huge issue in many metropolitan cities of India. A large number of Indian women have faced or are facing this menace. Whether it is a public transport or public places or shopping malls, streets or workplace, women feel vulnerable to the threat.
There are many instances where even the girls of young age are being harassed in public places. Eve-teasing is a menace to society as a whole and has to be eradicated. But there is no specific legislation in the country except for the state of Tamil Nadu which has its own legislation to deal with this offence. It is pertinent to note here that this is not simply a matter of an incident which happens one day and is forgotten the next day. It may severely effect a women, both emotionally and psychology. It may be that serious that it could lead a woman to commit suicide due to the harassment and torture that she might have undergone. Eve-teasing is nothing but a serious offence against the honor, dignity, and self-respect of a woman.
2.Molestation
Another form of violence against women is that of molestation, or what is commonly known as ‘sexual abuse’ or ‘sexual assault’. It is the forcing of sexual behavior by a man over the women. Molestation is the sexual exploitation of a child or a woman by an adult or a male person for sexual gratification. The Sexual abuses can be of various types namely, Fondling, Mutual masturbation, Sodomy, Coitus, Child pornography and child prostitution, etc. It may be an attack on one’s dignity and modesty by an acquaintance or a close family member or friend, or even by a complete stranger. It becomes even more difficult to disclose and complaint against the abuser where he is a family member or a person known to the family otherwise. Though, the people who are a victim or have witnessed such crime have an obligation to report these crimes, but reporting these crimes is a tough task; generally, people have a mindset that such cases should not be reported because of the societal pressure as they bring bad name to the victim. The person who has been victimized is seen with disregard in the society. Even the molesters themselves threaten the victims and compel them not to disclose the incident.
3.Rape
“Of late, crime against women in general and rape in particular is on the increase… Rape is not merely a physical assault. It is often destructive of the whole personality of his victim. A murder destroys the physical body of the victim; a rapist degrades the very soul of the helpless female. The Courts, therefore, shoulder a great responsibility while trying an accused-on charge of rape.” Rape is one of the most extreme forms of sexual violence committed against women. It is an act of physical violence and assault which is expressed through sexual means. The Indian Penal Code,1860 defines the offence of Rape under Section 375. Initially, this section merely provided that a man is said to have committed rape who has sexual intercourse with a woman against her will or without her consent or under the various given circumstances in the section. However, with the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, the definition of Rape has been made wider. Owing to the various kinds of incidents being reported lately, the Legislators have included a variety of sexual abuses within the definition of Rape and have also increased the punishment for the same offence. After the amendment, it has incorporated the acts like penetration, insertion of objects, application of mouth or even the manipulation of a female’s body for the purpose of penetration into the definition of rape. Also, the punishment for the offence of rape has been made more stringent.
Law relating to sexual Harassment
The Indian Law dealing with offences of sexual harassment has been given under the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The Code defines the concepts of Rape, Stalking, Assault, etc. but it does not define the word eve-teasing or molestation. It has defined the offences and the elements which constitute the offence, and has also prescribed a punishment for the same. The provisions dealing with the crime of eve-teasing are contained in Sections 509, 294 and 354. Section 509 prescribes the punishment for outraging the modesty of women by uttering any word, making any gestures or doing any act with the intention of outraging a woman’s modesty. Section 294 prescribes the punishment for committing any obscene acts or uttering or saying obscene songs. Similarly, Section 354 prescribes punishment for use of assault or Criminal force to a woman with the intention to outrage her modesty.
However, the term Eve-teasing has not been explicitly used in the Code, nor the concept of modesty has been defined as it differs from place to place. Something that may not amount to outraging modesty in USA, may amount to outraging of modesty in India. What may be obscene in India may not be considered obscene in USA. Apart from this offence, the offence of Sexual Abuse or molestation may also be addressed under Section 354 of the Code. The provisions of IPC dealing with the offence of Rape have been laid down under Section 375 and 376. As discussed above, the scope of the definition of Rape given under Section 375 was narrow, which has been amended and modified to meet the needs of the current society.
The December gang rape and subsequent death of a twenty-three-year-old student in New Delhi ignited a national furor over India’s treatment of women and the perceived culture of complicity with regards to sexual violence in India. It was due to this nationwide protest that the law was amended. Section 375 now provides the definition of Rape as the penetration of penis, or any object to any extent into the vagina, urethra, anus or mouth; or manipulation of body parts of women so as to cause penetration or application of mouth to the private parts of a woman, etc. The new law also incorporates stringent punishments in Section 376 for rape, gang rape, as well as acid attacks. It has also made special provisions to prescribe punishments for the offence of rape where the offence of rape causes death, or leaves the victim in a vegetative state. It also prescribes grave punishments for repeated offenders of the crime of rape.
Apart from these measures, the government and the courts lay down several policies and guidelines for ensuring women security in the country. For instance, there has been an establishment for a special system of women’s helpline number in Delhi; special regulations have been made for women safety in public transport; new and suitable laws have been enacted; even special phone applications have been made available which could help tracing a person; etc. Apart from ratifying CEDAW in the year 1993 for the purpose of building a sound framework for protection of women’s human rights, India also passed The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, 2012 on 26th February 2013. However, the loopholes in the Indian Law and the absence of complete description of certain offences like eve-teasing and penal provisions for all such sort of offences is a major lacuna to be covered. It is important to make a complete set of laws which could cover all such offences and make the society safe and secure.