The complaints were filed on the online portal, She-Box, which the ministry then forwards to the respective workplaces.
New Delhi: More than 70 per cent of the workplace sexual harassment complaints, filed with the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD), on its online portal She-Box, are yet to be disposed of.
An RTI filed by ThePrint has revealed that since its launch in November last year, She-Box, the portal, has received 251 complaints of workplace sexual harassment, of which, 185 are yet to be disposed of. In 28 cases, however, the workplaces have filed status updates on the portal.
She-Box was launched by WCD minister Maneka Gandhi to ensure speedier action on workplace sexual harassment complaints from women, both in the private and public sector.
As per the mechanism, the WCD ministry would forward a sexual harassment complaint to the concerned company for action. It was to then periodically follow up on the status of each case.
Also read: Amid #MeToo storm, NCW decides to review Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act
A year into its launch, however, not even 30 per cent of the 251 complaints of workplace sexual harassment have been disposed of — in that, the companies concerned have brought them to a conclusion.
Of these 251 complaints, 95 were filed by central government employees. Only 37 of these cases have been disposed of, while 43 are pending. The companies have filed status updates on 15 of the cases on the online portal.
From state and UT employees, 47 complaints have been filed, of which 35 are pending. The status of one of the cases has been updated on the portal.
The biggest chunk of the complaints, 109 in all, were filed from private companies, which are also the worst offenders in taking action, with as many as 79 of the cases still pending. 12 of the cases have been updated.
An official in the WCD ministry said it has been doing its job of forwarding the complaints.
“The ministry has forwarded all complaints that have come to it to the concerned Internal Complaints Committees (ICC)… Our role is to only transfer the complaint and create pressure on the ICC to examine the case in a speedy manner,” the official from the ministry told ThePrint on condition of anonymity. “But admittedly the disposal rate is low.”
According to the official, cases disposed of are the ones in which decisions have been taken by the ICC concerned, updated are the ones for which the ICC has updated the status of the case on the She-Box portal, and pending are the ones that are still awaiting any decision.
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Slow rates in midst of #MeToo
At a time when several complaints of sexual harassment have come to the fore as part of the #MeToo movement, the numbers may explain what some experts say is women’s disillusionment with due process.
One of the problems for the slow disposal rates of sexual harassment cases, which the National Commission for Women (NCW) singled out recently, is that the sexual harassment act is not clear on “prevention” of sexual harassment and there is no authority to ensure a proper mechanism for monitoring its implementation.
“In the government especially, complaints are made and nothing happens…In fact, the entire system turns against the woman,” a woman civil servant said on the condition of anonymity. “These are only the numbers in the She-Box; if you see the regular complaints made in ICCs, the numbers will probably be worse.”
Women who have already filed complaints in ICCs or Local Complaints Committee (LCC) constituted under the Sexual Harassment Act are also eligible to make complaints in the She-Box.
The NCW has also recognised the problems that follow if the victim is not satisfied with the decision of the ICC. “Options available to the victim, if she is not satisfied with the process of inquiry and report by the ICC, is not clearly defined in the act. Monitoring authority and appellate authority must be defined and established, like a nodal agency,” it recommended.
Recently, with complaints of sexual harassment mounting under the #MeToo movement, Maneka Gandhi had sought to constitute a committee of retired judges to look into the legal and institutional framework that is in place for handling complaints of sexual harassment. However, her decision was overturned by the PMO.
Earlier this year, the government made an amendment to the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014, in order to mandate the disclosure regarding the implementation of the Sexual Harassment Act in the Directors Report of every company. “If private companies are not taking cases of sexual harassment seriously, it will reflect in their disclosures,” the WCD official said.
It must be said to the credit of Smt Maneka Gandhi that she is a woman of conscience, a diligent minister, her heart beats for many causes that others sometimes neglect.