Dr. Charu WaliKhanna, Member, was Chief Guest at the Workshop on “Prevention of Sexual Harassment” organised by Central Warehousing Corporation, New Delhi on 18 June 2013. 

Member, Dr. Charu WaliKhanna made a presentation on the prevention of sexual harassment at the workplace and also shared details of the Supreme Court guidelines and the salient features of the NCW draft bill. She reiterated that every employer / organization is required to constitute an Internal Complaints Committee for effective redressal mechanism, of which, not less than half of it members should be women. She said that it has been observed that most organizations / institutions have constituted an ICC, but it is not as per Supreme Court guidelines. She added that the law requires the ICC be headed by a woman, half the members should be women and there should be inclusion of a third party / NGO, who is accessible, approachable, committed, sensitive and understanding. 

Dr. Charu WaliKhanna emphasized on the fact that Women have the right to work in a safe environment and enjoy equal pay, benefits and opportunities for advancement. Sexual harassment at the workplace infringes the fundamental right of a Woman to gender equality as guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution of India and her right to life and live with dignity, under Article 21, which includes right to a safe, environment free from sexual harassment. 

The publications of NCW on Prevention of Sexual harassment at Workplace were distributed among the participants and there was an interactive session in which participants shared their experiences. 

Other speakers included Ms. Vinay Bhardwaj, Assistant Professor, Delhi University and Vice-President of Mahila Dakshita Samiti, who spoke on gender stereotype and need for gender sensitization; and Advocate Jyotika Kalra who spoke on the prevention of sexual harassment and the provisions incorporated in the recently enacted “The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013” and Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013