Latest news with #SexualHarassmentofWomenatWorkplace(Prevention
Scroll.in
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Yet again, Odisha student's death by suicide shows how India is still failing women
Predictable, knee-jerk reactions and promises of harsh punishment followed the death by suicide of a 20-year-old woman from Odisha on July 14 after she was sexually harassed by a college faculty member. The incident underscored how India's reactive and punishment-focused response to violence against women is fundamentally inadequate. The 20-year-old BEd student at Fakir Mohan Autonomous College in Balasore had set herself ablaze outside the principal's office on July 12. Two days later, she succumbed to 95% burn injuries at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Bhubaneswar The student's testimonials and letters being circulated by the media show that she was harassed for months by the head of department Samir Kumar Sahu, who allegedly demanded sexual favours to clear her attendance backlogs. Sahu was arrested on July 12 and college principal Dilip Ghosh soon after. The student had met Balasore MP Pratap Sarangi to report the harassment. She had also posted about the harassment on her X account tagging the Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Majhi, the state's higher education minister and Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan, who is a Member of Parliament from Odisha. But her pleas went unheard. The immediate aftermath followed a familiar script, with Majhi promising 'strictest punishment under law'. The state government hastily directed higher education institutions to constitute Internal Complaints Committees under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, as if the absence of such mechanisms had been a sudden revelation rather than a longstanding oversight. It shows that even basic legal mandates under the act are unaddressed in Odisha. The opposition Biju Janata Dal and Congress held protests in Odisha demanding political accountability. But systemic accountability will not result solely from resorting to criminal law and punishing offenders. The systemic failures that enable such violence must be addressed. However, since the 2012 Delhi gangrape, India has repeatedly turned to punitive legislation to address sexual violence. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, and the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018, introduced harsher penalties for sexual offences. After the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the state-run RG Kar Hospital in August last year, West Bengal enacted the Aparajita Woman and Child Act, 2024. But less than a year later, in July, Kolkata witnessed another violent crime: a law student was gangraped in an alleged act of revenge by a former classmate after she refused to marry one of them. The persistence of such crimes despite severe laws underlines the futility of seeking deterrence through retributive punishment alone. Friends of the Odisha student say her ordeal was not confined to sexual harassment by Sahu but also included verbal abuse and harassment that she endured for months. Sexual slurs and rumours of her being of 'loose' character were circulated on college WhatsApp groups. Demeaning language by her peers led to her being ostracised, possibly creating an environment of isolation and despair. The college Internal Complaints Committee had found Sahu guilty and recommended his transfer but the directive was not implemented. These failings show that it was not just a case of individual misconduct, but a comprehensive institutional failure that pushed a young woman to the brink. This occured despite the fact that the prevention of workplace sexual harassment law, which has mechanisms to check such incidents, includes educational institutions under its purview. Section 19 of the act mandates employers to organise workshops and awareness programmess on sexual harassment and conspicuously display the consequences of sexual harassment as well as the manner of reporting to the internal complaints committee. Merely focusing on punishing Sahu and the principal shifts focus away from the government's shortcomings in implementing the safeguards already in place. However, days after the incident, the Odisha government on July 19 announced the Shaktishree programme for women's safety. Its main features include a mobile app to report complaints, an empowerment cell of female faculty and students, a code of conduct, online training on the prevention of sexual harassment at the workplace act and increased camera surveillance. #Odisha takes a bold step with the #Shaktishree Initiative to ensure safer campuses for women. — CMO Odisha (@CMO_Odisha) July 19, 2025 The state government's technocratic approach ignores ground realities such as the fact that women, especially those from marginalised groups, have low access to smartphones and the internet. Similarly, the reliance on student-led cells, training modules and periodic visits by mentors treats sexual harassment as coordination problem rather than one requiring fundamental cultural change. The Balasore student had already reported her harassment through existing channels to the college internal complaints committee. More reporting mechanisms would not have protected her when the system failed to act on her complaints. Majhi, while announcing the Shaktishree programme, did not say whether the government has the capacity to deliver these measures, and in what timeframe. It also is not clear how everyday incidents will be prevented while this new initiative is put into place. Women as citizens Implementing both, the prevention of sexual harassment at the workplace act and the Shaktishree initiative requires political will grounded in the recognition of women's rights as citizens, not daughters, sisters or mothers. This is difficult in Indian society where close-knit family relations and caste and religion markers determine the worth of women, creating a pervasive rape culture. In another incident in Odisha earlier in July, BJP legislator Santosh Khatua used sexual slurs against Lekhashree Samantasinghar, a senior leader of the opposition Biju Janata Dal. After Samantasinghar's complaint, the police filed a case against Khatua. But the ruling BJP did not admonish its legislator or criticise his behaviour. In March, after the Congress alleged that crimes against women in the state had increased, the state government refused to constitute a house committee to consider this phenomenon. This political apathy creates an enabling environment in which violent crimes against women flourish with impunity, provoking public outrage only when they breach the narrow boundaries of respectability. In the case of the Balasore student, this culture of impunity proved fatal, as political leaders turned a blind even as the student pleaded with them to intervene. The path forward demands the strict implementation of the orders of the internal complaints committee, mandatory gender sensitisation programmes, regular institutional audits, robust grievance redressal mechanisms, psychosocial support and a cultural transformation that challenges deep-rooted social prejudices. Unless these are addressed, preventable tragedies such as the death of the young woman in Balasore will continue.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- The Hindu
Odisha ‘sexual harassment' case: internal complaints committee report had not recommended any punitive action
The Internal Complaints Committee, constituted under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH), at F.M. Autonomous College in Balasore, Odisha, had not recommended any disciplinary action against the teacher accused of sexually harassing a student who later died after setting herself on fire. The ICC report, which recently came out in the open, said the panel did not find any conclusive evidence to substantiate the charges of sexual harassment. 'Students should strive to uphold the reputation of institutions and improve the quality of education by keeping a cordial relationship with teachers and they should not indulge in character assassination without any proof,' the report said. It said, 'Teachers should also closely study psychology of students and become compassionate in order to improve their academic growth.' The ICC, constituted under the leadership of Jayashree Mishra following allegations of sexual harassment against Samir Kumar Sahoo — Head of the Bachelor of Education department at the college, did not recommend any punitive action in its report. The student had allegedly taken the extreme step of setting herself ablaze after her repeated complaints against the teacher went unaddressed. Report contradictory The ICC report contradicted the statement of several ICC members who, after the student's death, said that they had recommended the removal of the accused teacher from his current position. However, the final ICC report made no mention of any transfer or removal of the teacher from the post of department head. The girl student's family members and friends and members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) — of which she was a member — alleged that even a temporary transfer or asking the accused teacher to go on leave, after her complaints, could have eased tensions and possibly prevented the tragedy. They further said that Sahoo influenced the outcome of the ICC inquiry by continuing in his role during the investigation. The report said that the ICC conducted a five-day-long investigation and recorded the statements of the student, her father, 60 other students and college teachers. Binaytosh Mishra, Director General of Police (Crime Branch), said there were discrepancies in the statements given by individuals connected to the case before and after the girl's death. He added that the Crime Branch, which is investigating into the incident, has gathered several key pieces of evidence and that the progress of the probe has been satisfactory.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- The Hindu
Odisha college committee exonerates teacher accused of sexual harassment, says deceased girl's allegations are baseless
The Internal Complaints Committee, constituted under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH), at F.M. Autonomous College in Balasore, Odisha, did not recommend any disciplinary action against the teacher accused of sexually harassing a student who later died after setting herself on fire. The ICC report, which came out recently, said the allegation of sexual harassment was baseless as the committee did not find any conclusive evidence to substantiate the charges. 'Students should strive to uphold reputation of institutions and improve quality of education by keeping cordial relationship with teachers and they should not indulge in character assassination without any proof,' the report said. It said, 'Teachers should also closely study psychology of students and become compassionate in order to improve their academic growth.' The ICC, constituted under the leadership of Jayashree Mishra following allegations of sexual harassment against Samira Kumar Sahoo — Head of the Bachelor of Education department at the college, did not recommend any punitive action in its report. The student had allegedly taken the extreme step of setting herself ablaze after her repeated complaints against the teacher went unaddressed. Report contradictory The ICC report contradicted the statement of several ICC members who claimed that they had recommended the removal of the accused teacher from his current position. However, the final ICC report made no mention of any transfer or removal of the teacher from the post of department head. The girl student's family members and friends and members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) — of which she was a member — alleged that even a temporary transfer or asking the accused teacher to go on leave, after her complaints, could have eased tensions and possibly prevented the tragedy. They further claimed that Sahoo influenced the outcome of the ICC inquiry by continuing in his role during the investigation. The report claimed that the ICC conducted a five-day-long investigation and recorded the statements of the student, her father, 60 other students and college teachers. Binaytosh Mishra, Director General of Police (Crime Branch), said there were discrepancies in the statements given by individuals connected to the case before and after the girl's death. He added that the Crime Branch, which is investigating into the incident, has gathered several key pieces of evidence and that the progress of the probe has been satisfactory.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- The Hindu
Employers engaging over 10 employees directed to establish ICC to protect women at work
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, has been enacted with an objective to provide protection to women and for the redressal of such complaints. This Act mandates constitution of Internal Complaints Committee by the employers of all the establishments employing 10 or more workers, to conduct inquiry related to the complaints on sexual harassment at the workplace received from their women employees. Any non-compliance on the part of employers with respect to the provisions of the Act will entail penalty of upto ₹50,000. Hence all the factories and establishments carrying out building and other construction works in Madurai, Sivagangai and Ramanathapuram districts shall constitute the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) in their workplace immediately and comply with the regulations stipulated under the said Act. The members of the ICC and the grievance redressal mechanism of the factory shall be displayed in conspicuous locations on the premises and the construction sites and shall be kept visible to all the employees. The standard operating procedures for the establishments to deal with issues on sexual harassment have been framed by the Government in its G.O. 64 Social Welfare and Women Empowerment Departments and all the employers are instructed to strictly adhere to the guidelines stipulated therein, said A Velmurugan, Joint Director (Industrial Safety and Health) in a press release on Monday.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- The Hindu
Form committees to probe sexual harassment complaints, construction firms told
All business establishments, companies, factories and construction firms in the four southern districts have been instructed to form internal complaints committees (ICC) in their workplaces immediately to probe sexual harassment complaints and display details of the ICC prominently in their firms, the Department of Industrial Safety and Health has said. In a statement, Joint director of Industrial Safety and Health, Tirunelveli, P. Tamizhselvan said the internal complaints committee for probing sexual harassment in workplaces should be displayed conspicuously in factories and other establishments in Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Kanniyakumari and Thoothukudi districts. The establishments carrying out construction in the four districts also should constitute ICC in their workplaces and comply with the regulations stipulated under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. Names of the members of the Internal Complaints Committee and grievance redressal mechanism of the factory or establishment should be displayed in conspicuous locations and be kept visible to all employees. The Act had been enacted with the objective to provide protection against sexual harassment of women at workplace and for the redressal of such complaints. It mandated the constitution of Internal Complaints Committee by employers of all establishments employing 10 or more workers to conduct inquiry related to complaints on sexual harassment at the workplace received from their women employees. Any non-compliance on the part of the employer with respect to the provisions of the Act would entail penalty of up to ₹50,000, cautioned the note. The standard operation procedures for the establishments to deal with issued on sexual harassment had been framed by the government and, hence, all employers were instructed to strictly adhere to the guidelines, Mr. Tamizhselvan said.
