Out Now

PRIA, in collaboration with ILO and Solution Exchange for Gender Community, organized a half-day Seminar on ‘Prevention of Sexual Harassment within Workplace: Issues and Strategies’ on 24 March 2010 at the UNDP Conference Hall, 55 Lodhi Estate, New Delhi. The Seminar had representatives from diverse sectors like government functionaries, NGOs, lawyers, trade unions, corporate, women’s organization, and so on.

Shri M R Mohanty, Director of the Ministry of Women and Child Development set the tone by providing an overview of the draft Bill, Protection of Women Against Sexual Harassment at Workplace 2007 which has been pending in Parliament.  Ms Meenakshi Lekhi, an advocate with the Supreme Court, alluded to some of the loopholes and areas of modifications within the draft Bill. Ms. Reiko Tsushima and Ms. Supriyao Rao from the International Labour Organisation gave an international perspective on laws on prevention of sexual harassment across various countries and the possible implications for the Indian draft Bill. Diverse sectoral perspectives also enriched the Seminar proceedings. Comments from Dr. N. Hamsa, Director of Women Power Connect, Dr. Bharti Sharma, Chairperson of Domestic Worker Rights Campaign, Shri Ashim Roy from New Trade Union Initiatives, Dr. Albeena Shakeel representative of the Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH), Jawaharlal Nehru University and Ms. Devika Singh from Kochhar and Company, a corporate law firm, highlighted some aspects in the draft Bill for the Seminar participants to ponder upon. Ms. Martha Farrell, Director PRIA, chaired the session. An audience opinion on some aspects of the draft Bill, the implement of the Vishaka Directions and the need for sensitization and awareness was also sought through a personal voting system.

The Seminar reiterated the fact that sexual harassment within workplace is a serious issue for women in the country. There is an urgent need to advocate for the passage of the draft Bill, the implementation of the Vishaka Directions and creating an environment within organizations to prevent and address the issue of sexual harassment.

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Presentations Of Seminar

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