Sexual harassment at work place in India is "quite prevalent" but the victims refrain from lodging a complaint fearing social disgrace and loss of work, head of Ahmedabad Women's Action Group, a non-government organisation said.
"Sexual harassment exists in several fields whether it is government, private sector, medicine or even lawyers but nobody wants to say so," AWAG head Ila Pathak told PTI.
"When women take up jobs, it often evokes negative response from male colleagues, who perceive that their domain is being attacked. In retaliation they strive to regain control by power poaching. Sexual behaviour is often the focus of the same," Pathak added.
A survey conducted by AWAG indicated that about 48 per cent of women said they experienced sexually inappropriate behaviour at work place. The nature of harassment included verbal, psychological and physical. The perpetrators of harassment are usually co-workers or immediate superiors.
Despite the Supreme Court taking a serious view of sexual harassment cases in 1997 and directing the states to form committees to deal with complaints of female employees, few states have complied with the apex court's order properly.
On a petition filed by a woman in Ahmedabad recently in High Court, alleging that such committees did not exist in Gujarat, the court asked the government to file an affidavit.
{{/usCountry}}On a petition filed by a woman in Ahmedabad recently in High Court, alleging that such committees did not exist in Gujarat, the court asked the government to file an affidavit.
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