The joint move by the National Commission on the Status of Women and the Planning Commission to hold a seminar on the harassment law should be welcomed.

More than two months have passed since the Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace Bill, 2010 was signed into law. We have not heard very much about the mechanism that has to be set up to enforce the law, nor has the code of conduct envisaged by it received much publicity. This is not surprising. The government is known for dragging its feet when it comes to the implementation of laws, especially those that are enacted after a lot of advocacy and activism to overcome resistance from vested interests. One would not want the legislation on harassment to meet the fate of many other laws that have been relegated to the back burner.

While a mechanism is essential to provide women redress if they complain of harassment, it is also important that the law receives publicity and awareness is created about what it has to offer. The key provision of the law is the code of conduct it lays down to guide employers on drawing up their own codes. If this has been done, it has not received much publicity. It is for women, for whose protection the law was drawn up, to take the initiative to create awareness about the law, the process of filing complaints and the code. These should be publicised sufficiently.

One hopes that women’s organisations that struggled hard to get the law enacted will contribute to creating awareness about it among employers and female workers. If women are to make their full contribution to the national economy it is important that they get security and respect from their colleagues at the workplace. The law is there. It now needs to be enforced.
Source: Dawn
Date:5/20/2010