The Hindu : Women's panel wants law to check harassment

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 18, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Women's panel wants law to check harassment

By Our Staff Reporter

KOZHIKODE, FEB. 17. The Kerala State Women's Commission has decided to submit a draft bill to the department concerned to check harassment of women at workplaces and provide appropriate remedial measures to prevent the offence.

Speaking to The Hindu here today, the commission chairperson, M. Kamalam, said the objective of the draft bill was to frame a law based on the guidelines provided by the Supreme Court in the spirit of the Visakha case. More than seven years after the Supreme Court ruling in the Visakha case, there was no law to check gender harassment at workplaces. The offenders were not getting punished. A suitable law to implement the ruling in the Visakha case had become necessary, she said.

Titled `Sexual Harassment at Workplace (Prevention) Bill', the statement of object and reasons suggests the need for a comprehensive law in the State for appropriate action against those guilty of harassment of women at the workplaces.

`Harassment' includes any act of gender-biased nature resulting in physical, sexual, mental harm or suffering to women. It included a whole gamut of actions which could result in mental or physical trauma. The draft was envisaged as a suitable mechanism to combat the problem in Kerala, and would include `gender discrimination', also, and not just sexual harassment.

The concept of civil remedies was being adequately incorporated in criminal law through suggestion of a special legislation. The Indian Penal Code was not a complete law to handle the comprehensive issue such as sexual harassment, and to provide legal solutions. A well-crafted legislation free from lacunae is the need of the hour.

The commission secretary, A. Shahjehan, and the law officer, Omana, said the draft comprised 23 sections including procedures for setting up a five-member anti-harassment committee in all organisations, appointment of special officers at the district level, the burden of proof, in camera proceedings, among others. The onus of proving the burden of innocence is on the accused, and the sexually harassed woman shall have the right to corroborate the evidence.

The special officer envisaged by the draft shall be a woman as far as possible. Punishment was simple imprisonment up to five years or fine of Rs. 25,000, or both. A special legislation was cited to be a necessity since despite the guidelines of the Visakha case to set up harassment committee, there was no implementation clause or empowered authority. The expert committee set up for the purpose comprised Rajalakshmi (Professor, Law College, Thiruvananthapuram), Gangadharan, former judge, and John Singh James, former Additional Law Secretary).

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