The Protection of Women Against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill, 2010

THE TRIBUNE, NEW DELHI, 11.11.2010, P. 10
Sexual harassment
Thirteen years after the Supreme Court delivered the Vishakha judgment detailing guidelines for the protection of women at workplaces, the Union Cabinet’s nod to the Protection of Women Against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill, 2010 for introduction in the Parliament’s forthcoming winter session is heartening (editorial “Protecting career women: Bill to prevent sexual harassment at offices”, Nov 8).
The apex court had relied upon the Convention for Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which India had signed. As stated in the editorial, the Bill is broad-based in its nature and scope as it includes women working in all enterprises — public, private, organised and unorganised. It will apply even to establishments with less than 10 employees, but their complaints will be directed to a local complaints committee at the district level.
Moreover, any woman who enters the workplace as a client, customer, apprentice, daily wage earner or in an ad hoc capacity, students and research scholars in colleges and universities, patients in hospitals will have the right to complain against sexual harassment. However, it is rightly urged upon to bring the domestic help into the ambit of the present legislation in view of the increasing cases of exploitation and molestation of the domestic help in recent times.
RAJENDER GOYAL, Advocate, Bahadurgarh