Sexual Misconduct

Sexual misconduct or harassment at workplace affects a majority of women in some form or the other. Sexual harassment covers a broad spectrum of lewd behavior including indecent remarks, touching, wolf-whistles or any other conduct of sexual nature. Working women are most commonly face subjected to such backlash as they take on new roles otherwise considered male preserves.

Sexual misconduct at work is an extension of the violence women face in a patriarchal setup. The act is discriminatory, exploitative and thrives in an atmosphere of threat, terror and retaliation. Studies have shown that sexual harassment is a grave concern affecting approximately 60% of women at workplace. In India, it has been only six years since sexual harassment was first recognized by The Supreme Court as a human rights violation and gender based systemic discrimination affecting women.

What Is Sexual Harassment?
The Supreme Court defines sexual harassment is an unwelcome sexually determined behavior, such as:-

• Attempting physical contact
• A request for sexual favours
• Sexually loaded remarks
• The act of showing pornography
• Any other physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature.

A case of Sexual Harassment needs to be reported if a person:

• A victim of an unwelcome act of physical intimacy, like grabbing, brushing, touching, pinching etc.
• Faced with a demand or request (direct or implied) for sexual favours from another making it a condition for employment/payment of wages/increment/promotion etc.
• Confronted with remarks of sexual connotations, like sexually explicit compliments/cracking loud jokes with sexual connotations/ making sexist remarks etc.
• Being shown sexually explicit visual material, in the form of pictures/cartoons/pin-ups/calendars/screen savers on computers/any offensive written material/pornographic e-mails, etc.
• Demand for sexual favours in return for promotion or other benefits or threatens to sack for non-cooperation from your boss.