Introduction
Sexual
harassment with women at workplaces has been a big concern. We come across new cases of sexual Harassment with women at workplaces again and again.
In a civilised society, women must be treated equally and their dignity must be
protected. There were two
watershed moments around workplace equality and dignity for women in India. The
first was the Vishaka judgment in 1997 when for the first time the Supreme
Court (SC) recognised sexual harassment at the workplace as a form of
discrimination and a violation of women’s rights to work and equality. The
second was in 2018 when the #MeToo movement emerged in India and emboldened
women to openly speak about sexual harassment and violence. While it enabled
women to speak up about sexual violence, it was much harder for minority women,
Dalit women, Trans-persons and others from marginalised backgrounds to do so.
Recently, In Priya Ramani verdict once again
the judgement is given in favour of the victim of sexual harassment. this case
correctly defines the victimization of victims in the patriarchal society.
What is Sexual Harassment?
In Vishaka and Ors. v. State of Rajasthan[1]
the supreme court defines sexual harassment as an unwanted sexual determination
that is directly or impliedly intended to cause the following:
1. Physical contact or advances.
2. A demand or request for sexual favours.
3. Sexually coloured remarks.
4. Showing pornography.
5. Any other unwelcome conduct whether it is physical,
verbal or non-verbal
The ruling of the Supreme Court, in this case, was a landmark, as there were some
guidelines were issued by the Supreme Court for sexual harassment with
women at workplaces. Such guidelines were imposed certain duties on the
Employer such as that provide a safer working environment, his duty to file a criminal complaint. In case any employee doing any act toward women which is
punishable in the Indian Penal Code.
Supreme
also mentioned in its guidelines that there should be a complaint redressal committee
in every organisation or institution which will deal with the sexual harassment
cases. In this judgement, the obligation was also imposed upon the government
for widening the scope of these guidelines.
The
Vishaka guidelines were later on replaced by the Sexual Harassment of women at the workplace (prevention, prohibition
and redressal) Act, 2013[1].
The new act passed in 2013 broadens the definition of aggrieved women to
involve women of all ages, in order to suit the modern-day conditions. It also
broadens the scope of the term workplace which was earlier limited only to the
traditional office set-up.
In
2013 Indian Penal Code was amended by the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013,
Section 354 A was added to the Indian Penal Code that stipulates what consists
of a sexual harassment offence and what the penalties shall be for a man
committing such an offence. Penalties range from one to three years of imprisonment and/or a fine. Additionally, with sexual harassment being a crime,
employers are obligated to report offences.
Priya Ramani Judgement
The
judgement delivered by the Delhi Court in MJ
Akbar v. Priya Ramani on 17 Feb 2021 is one of the landmark judgements on
sexual harassment with women. In this, it was mentioned by the court that “A woman has a right to put her grievances
even after decades”.
In this case, the Priya Ramani Accuses MJ Akbar, then a Union minister, of sexually
harassing her year ago. She tweeted that she was sexually assaulted by him in
1993. MJ Akbar denies all the accusations and filed a complaint of defamation
against her. the court in its final judgement acquitted Priya Ramani in the
criminal defamation case filed against her by MJ Akbar.
This case is taken into consideration as the reality of social behaviour towards the victim of harassment. In the patriarchal society, it is very hard for the victim of sexual harassment to come forward and take a stand against the accused due to social pressure. The verdict in M J Akbar’s complaint of defamation is, therefore, extremely important. It throws out his criminal complaint and upholds Ramani’s right to speak not only about the sexual harassment that she was subjected to but also of that experienced by others. The magistrate notes that: “The woman cannot be punished for raising voice against sex abuse on the pretext of criminal complaint of defamation as the right of reputation cannot be protected at the cost of the right to life and dignity of women as guaranteed in the Indian constitution under Article 21 and the right to equality before the law and equal protection of the law as guaranteed under Article 14 of the constitution. The woman has a right to put her grievance at any platform of her choice and even after decades.”
Victimization of the Victim
Historically, India has been the place of the patriarchal structure of society. in the patriarchal society, it is very hard for women to complain against the crime of sexual harassment. it is the perception of the society the victim is always seen with some faults. And the accused is neglected. However, practically women have no-fault while she is sexually harassed. It has been the subject of shame for women to complain against the accused of sexual harassment.
The
#MeToo movement has emerged in India and provides an open platform to women
for speaking up openly. #MeToo movement was crucial because despite the
guidelines prescribed by the SC in Vishaka and the Sexual Harassment of Women
at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013 being enacted, it
was extremely difficult for women to file complaints. There was a huge backlash
against women who complained about sexual harassment at the workplace. They
were not believed, faced great stigma and were victimised by being terminated
from work. The backlash included terming complainants as false, filing counter
complaints and seeking gag orders for the media not to cover cases of sexual
harassment. By far the most common response has been of filing defamation
complaints and suits by alleged harassers against complainants.
Conclusion
The demographic ratio of women is around 50% of the total population of the country.
If half of its population is deprived of constitutional rights such
as the right to dignity and the right to liberty then it is impossible to found a
civilised society based on the principle of social justice.
The Vishaka guidelines are a set of guidelines that were instituted by the Supreme Court of India to ensure the safety of women at workplaces and lays down the guidelines for dealing with the cases that are related to sexual harassment at the workplace. The Bhanwari Devi case is the most significant landmark case in the history of cases involving sexual harassment of women. Further, we have seen the Priya Ramani case which ensures the rights of the victim and protects her against victimization.
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