What to do if you are being sexually harassed at work ?

Last month an owner of popular television news channel officially announced that one of the prominent personalities of their news channel would no longer be employed in their channel

 This announcement came after details of a sexual harassment and inappropriate allegations came to light.

Harassment in workplace is a major problem for many Indian women, even if they are well placed within the organization.

A 2015 cosmopolitan survey conducted in America reported that one in three women experienced sexual harassment at work out of this only 29% felt comfortable enough to report it.

Remember it’s the harasser who must feel the guilt, not the Victim. Unfortunately our Indian society often places the blame on women.

Many women often accept sexual harassment because they don’t even know if its harassment. Sexual harassment need not be always sexual in nature. It can be offensive remarks, ogling at women is also a form of harassment. Remember the harasser can be both male and female.

Company’s work culture also plays a major role in how the complaint is treated and how prevalent is harassment inside the organization. It’s not about individuals; always remember a hostile work environment is never good for the organization in the long run.

Remember it’s always better to speak out either to the harasser or the company ICC rather than simply taking the abuse. Always nip the problem in the bud.

 

If you are experiencing sexual harassment at your office remember that you have options including filing a complaint with your employer or going to the police station or the authorities never ignore or simply resign the job. If you think it’s easy to keep mum and take the burden on to yourself à you are wrong. Every woman is protected under the law by the government of India act called poSH act.

 

As a woman you should determine what you are experiencing is sexual harassment or not. Think how this harassment within the context of the company. If you do not know if something is harassment or not always approach ICC of your organization. You can always talk to ICC even if you are not sure if you are harassed.

Even if you do not want to file a formal complaint, remember to keep track of times you have been harassed and the type of harassment & the harasser, witnesses etc.

If you decide to file a complaint with ICC (internal complaints committee), make sure you give honest and complete information. Be sure to give all communications and full details about the incident(s), Dates on which the incident happened, your communication with your manager, HR etc.

It’s important to remember it’s not easy to speak up against harassment, always remember to support the victim. Do not Judge someone. If you see someone being harassed make sure you do not participate in the harassment by simply encouraging the harasser to continue.

Retaliation is the worst form of cruelty to the victim.