What does the PoSH Law say about Sexual Harassment in the Workplace?

This only proves that sexual harassment will only increase in the workplace if something isn’t done quickly.

 The PoSH Law

For women, sexual harassment has always followed them in the workplace. And the government hasn’t done anything about it until 1997. After the landmark Vishakha judgment, the need for an anti-sexual harassment law became a necessity. This lead to the development of the PoSH law.

The PoSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment in the workplace) has thus been protecting women against workplace sexual harassment training and help in creating healthy workplaces for women.

 Major Provisions of the PoSH Law

Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, came into force in 2013 to protect women against sexual harassment in the workplace. The government understood that sexual harassment is not limited to the designated offices and why women do not speak up against it. So the law developed not only protected women under all circumstances but also took necessary actions to prevent sexual harassment in the future.

Definition of workplace

As discussed, the government understood that sexual harassment isn’t limited to the designated office. So the government clearly the term ‘workplace’ to protect women who have been sexually harassed outside of the designated office. According to the PoSH law, the term ‘workplace’ includes –

●     Any department, organization, undertaking, owned, controlled or managed by the government as well as any private sector organization or a private venture, undertaking, enterprise, and institution.

●     Any/every place visited by the employee during the course of employment including transportation.

●     Non-traditional workplaces which involve telecommuting and virtual spaces are covered under the law.

Behavior implied as sexual harassment

The law was clear to define the term workplace. Similarly, the law clearly defines what is and what isn’t sexual harassment. It was important to do so since sexual harassment is often overlooked by women because they are unable to identify it. According to the PoSH law, the following amounts to sexual harassment in the workplace –

●     Implied or explicit promise of preferential treatment in employment

●     Implied or explicit threat of detrimental treatment in employment

●     Implied or explicit threat about the present or future employment

How does the law Prevent Sexual Harassment?

The government knew that having a law in place wouldn’t end sexual harassment. Something more had to be done to make workplaces safe for women. For this reason, the law made it compulsory for any employer with 10 (or more) employees to conduct anti-sexual harassment training in the organization.

With more awareness among employees, not only women are more encouraged to report sexual harassment but the incidence of sexual harassment have considerably decreased. There are various organizations like Rainmaker, that are dedicated to reducing sexual harassment in the workplace by training employees, managers, and even employers.

Make your organization a safe workplace today.