Date
20-Jan-2016 to 21-Jan-2016 |
Location
Lucknow, India |
Format
Sub National |
Sexual harassment exists in their workplaces. However, fear is one of the biggest factors because of which implementation of the law on prevention of sexual harassment at the workplace is poor.
Women want justice; yet they are unsure if they should file complaints. There are two kinds of fear. First, the fear of not being believed or of being further victimized in the workplace. Second, and alarmingly, some women also fear for their life. She fears if any news of the complaint reaches the man who physically harassed her, he may well use strong-arm tactics to intimidate her. This is not a new story.
These insights were raised by the 21 development consultants, heads of development organisations and religious institutions enrolled in a training and coaching programme that prepares individuals to become Third Party Facilitators in internal and local complaints committees. This is the second batch of Third Party Facilitators trained in Lucknow on 20 and 21 January 2016 by PRIA, Martha Farrell Foundation and Sahbhagi Shikshan Kendra.
What a Third Party Facilitator should, can and must do when a sexual harassment complaint is filed was also discussed at length during the training. As Third Party Facilitators and as internal complaints committee members, one can make arrangements for the complainant’s safety, she can be offered the option of working from home, arrange police protection for her if necessary and make sure that the complainant never comes face to face with her harasser. She may have the support of the institution; her family and her friends will rally around her. Yet, as Rupen Deol Bajaj shared, “In the ultimate analysis, you will have to face it alone, you will have to suffer it alone…” That is the reality.
Third Party Facilitators also face pressure to “close” the case or “prove her false”, especially when the charges are against persons with influence and reach. “What if, as third party facilitators, we stand up to the pressure and continue – there can be a threat to our lives,” remarked a male participant.
But we cannot give up walking on the road to make workplaces safe for all women.
