Everyman is a potential rapists - Nandita Das. - Page 6

Nandita Das @nanditadas Mumbai, Maharashtra

When asked her opinion about men these days, actress Nandita Das replied, "Every man is a potential rapist."

After the shocking sexual assault on a young journalist by the editor of the organization she worked for came to light, many seem to agree with the actress' thoughts. Sexual assault at workplace is not as uncommon as many perceive it to be; it's just that unlike a lot of other problems at work, it goes unreported. It takes a lot of courage to put the trauma in words and that's exactly why experts feel that an anti-sexual harassment cell should be an integral part of any organization. Though many organizations have taken this incident as a wake-up call, there are a number of other companies, big and small, which are yet to have a Vishakha Committee to inquire about allegations of sexual harassment. After reading about the Tejpal fiasco and how it was mandatory to have a Vishakha Committee in very organisation, Ashitha Thomas, an employee of a reputed software company in the city, asked her HR colleague if there was one in their office. "To my utter shock, she said that she had never heard of one. I decided to take the matter up with my manager and asked my colleagues to support me," she says.

Like her, there are many who were not aware about the Vishakha Committee. While it is essential to have a complaint wing at the workplace, it is also important that all employees are aware of their rights. "I never knew there was something called the Vishakha Committee. Though my previous employer had a so-called anti-harassment cell, it was just something on paper. No one educated us about it," quips Deepthi M, an advertising professional. Niyathi M Rao, who works as an HR executive in a Chennai-based bank, says that the idea of an anti-sexual harassment cell 'never crossed their minds.' "It is after this incident that we are trying to set up such a department," she states.

While there are HR professionals like Niyathi who didn't think it was necessary to have a Vishakha Committee till now, there are bosses who think it is a requirement only in organizations that have more male employees than female. When Shalmali Shahane, a 28-year oldphysiotherapist, asked her boss whether their organization had a Vishakha Committee, she was told that it wasn't there due to the labour-crunch situation. "According to her, our company does not really need one because the workplace has more female employees than males!"

What is the Vishakha Committee?
The Supreme Court had laid down strict guidelines for dealing with sexual harassment at workplace way back in 1997.This came in the wake of the gangrape of Bhanwari Devi, a social worker from Rajasthan. Following the denial of justice to Devi, Vishakha and other such women rights groups filed a PIL in the Supreme Court.This led to the formation of Vishakha guidelines which enforces the fundamental rights of working women. One of the salient features of the Vishakha guidelines ensures the mandatory formation of a grievance cell that would look into sexual harassment and make it easy for the survivor to address the issue.