Sexual Harassment commonplace in Indian work environments

Women frustrated by sexual harassment in workplace and lack of resources to actually do something about it.
via Newindpress…
Sexual harassment at work places is not uncommon. But the complaint redress mechanism does not operate in many places, including Government offices and private firms.
If at all, Sexual Harassment Committees (SHCs) though have been constituted as per the guidelines of the Apex Court in the Vishaka case, by and large remain only in name.
The Supreme Court has defined the term ‘sexual harassment’ as: physical contacts and advances; a demand or request for sexual favours; sexually coloured remarks; showing pornography; or any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature.
Though such complaints are not aired, incidences are many in the southern districts, irrespective of the nature of the place of work.
Enquiries by this website’s newspaper reporters brought to light the various forms of harassment suffered by women employees at their workstations.
As these women continue to get harassed, some of them never report because they are afraid their husbands will freak out. The head of the Tirunelveli All Woman Police Station has said that not a single report had been filed.
Many women in other sectors of work such as farming and construction are even further harassed.
For instance in the construction industry women failing to yield to the contractors’ sexual needs will not be offered work the next day, said Manimekalai, Director of the Centre.
While use of abusive words is quite common in this sector, the women are also subjected to physical torture like overburdening of work.
Another threat the women in this sector face is from the money lenders.
“Many women had admitted that money lenders had attempted to sexually exploit them when women fail to return money,” she said.
The worst part of the fact is that in most of the cases, it is the husband who borrows the money without the knowledge of the wife, ultimately leaving her to suffer.
“A section of the sample women, from the survey area, revealed that the money lenders had even tried to exploit their daughters,” Manimekalai said.