Considering sexual harassment at workplace as a violent crime, the Ministry of Women and Child Development has put in place legal and administrative structure, along with an alternate mechanism, for grievance redressal of the complainants.
In a series of tweets with #DrawTheLine, Gandhi urged women to speak up against sexual harassment at workplace and report it to the government’s dedicated portal ‘SHe-Box‘ for redressal.
The Minister for Women and Child Development has also requested working women and organisations to help spread the word about SHe-Box.
What is SHe-Box?
The Sexual Harassment electronic Box (SHe-Box) is an initiative by the Government of India to provide a single window access to every woman, irrespective of her work status, whether working in organised or unorganised, private or public sector, to facilitate the registration of complaint related to sexual harassment. Any woman facing sexual harassment at workplace can register a complaint through this portal. Once a complaint is submitted to the ‘SHe-Box’, it will be directly sent to the authority concerned having jurisdiction to take action in the matter.
How to register a complaint regarding sexual harassment at workplace?
Filing a complaint through SHe-Box is easy but you will need a valid email ID. To register a complaint, you need to follow the steps listed below:
* Click on the tab Register Your Complaint
* On the next screen, furnish information about the nature of office (Government/Private) where the alleged act(s) of sexual harassment took place
* A complaint registration form will be displayed on the screen
* Fill all the necessary details, and click on the ‘submit’ tab
* A confirmation message will be then sent to your email ID mentioned in the complaint form
* The message will come with a link that will let you open a SHe-Box account, using your email ID as the user ID
* Generate a password to view the status of the complaint from time to time.
* Detailed registration process can be found on the user manual uploaded on the website
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The government has enacted the Protection of Women from Sexual Harassment at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act (the SH Act), 2013 to create a safe and secure workplace, free from sexual harassment, for women. This Act caters to women working both in organised and unorganised sectors and establishes a redressal mechanism for the disposal of their complaints.
It defines “sexual harassment at the workplace” in a comprehensive manner, to cover circumstances of implied or explicit promise or threat to a woman’s employment prospects or creation of hostile work environment or humiliating treatment, which can affect her health or safety.
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In an effort to make people understand where to draw the line, the ministry has also prepared a comprehensive self-training video to help working women and men, as well as employers, understand the nuances of the Sexual Harassment at Workplace Act.