An e-platform will be launched this month to enable women employees of the central government to file sexual harassment complaints online.
Central government employees will soon have the opportunity to report cases of sexual harassment at work.
A e-platform, to be launched this month, will enable women employed with the central government to file sexual harassment complaints online.
Image for representation only. Source: Pexels
According to a report by The Indian Express, the platform will be hosted on the website of Ministry of Women & Child Development. Once filed, the complaints will be taken up with the respective ministries or departments.
“We have worked vigorously in the last two-three years in this area. We are going to launch an online platform where women can file sexual harassment-related complaints,” Women and Child Development (WCD) Minister Maneka Gandhi told the media on the sidelines of a workshop in New Delhi.
The e-platform will be established by the National Information Centre (NIC). The decision to host an online platform for sexual harassment cases was met by the Ministry last October.
Also read: Facing Sexual Harassment at Work? Here’s How Indian Women Can Use Legal Rights to Fight It
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 mandates that all workplaces with more than 10 employees constitute an internal complaints committee to deal with complaints of sexual harassment. A total of 30.87 lakh people are employed with the union government. According to the Census of Central Government Employees, 2011, women constitute 10.93 per cent of the total force.
“We hope our ICCs work in such a way that hopefully, we won’t have the need for using such a platform to seek redressal,” the WCD minister said.
She also instructed the heads of the Internal Complaints Committees of various ministries and departments to deal with frivolous cases “very strictly” and to “be careful.”
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