Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, 2010

TheLok Sabha on Monday Sep 03,2012 passed the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, 2010, without discussion amid uproar over `coalgate' scam.

The Bill, introduced by women and child development Minister Krishna Tirath  and approved by the Union Cabinet in 2010, covers women workers in the unorganized sector that employ less than 10 people where service rules are not applied. This includes domestic helps. The Bill also does not cover women in the armed forces.

 

The Bill defines sexual harassment as laid down by the SC in Vishaka vs. state of Rajasthan (1997) case
Sexual harassment includes any one or more unwelcome acts or behaviour like physical contact and advances, a demand or request for sexual favours or making sexually coloured remarks or showing pornography. The acts whether directly, or by implication, include any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature.

The Bill provides for complaints and redressal mechanism. Every employer is required to constitute an Internal Complaints Committee.

For establishments which employ less than 10 workers, the Bill provides for setting up a five-member local complaints committee (LCC).

Those who do not comply with the Act's provisions will be fined upto Rs 50,000. Repeated violation would be punished with higher penalties and cancellation of licence or registration to conduct business.