NEW DELHI: Aiming to empower women facing sexual harassment at workplace in cities to hinterland, Supreme Court has directed National Legal Services Authority down to district legal services authorities to render assistance to such females to lodge complaints either with the internal committees of govt, private or individual firms or with SHe-Box.
A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and N K Singh in its order last week said, “We direct that Nalsa, Slsa as well as authorities constituted at district and taluka level to facilitate any lady who has suffered sexual harassment at workplace to register her complaint effectively before internal committee constituted in the workplace and if not, to assist the victim in accordance with law.”
Additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati informed the court that sexual harassment electronic (SHe) Box port provides one-stop access to every woman irrespective of her work status, whether in an organised or unorganised, private or public sector and to facilitate the registration of complaint relating to sexual harassment.
However amicus curiae Padma Priya told the court it may not be possible for a woman, who was subjected to sexual harassment at workplace in a remote area, to access SHe-Box, where complaint can be lodged through internet access.
The bench directed all legal services authorities, as well as the official machinery up to taluka level “to effectively assist and facilitate a woman who has suffered sexual harassment at the workplace to make a complaint in case such an assistance is sought. For this purpose, sufficient publicity may be given by way of legal awareness programmes.”
The bench said it expected departments of labour and women and child development in all states as well as Centre to render all assistance to Nalsa and Slsa in effective implementation of the 2013 law.