Today we live in a civilised society and it is also a fact that we have achieved a lot of success in curbing down corruption and events that were prevalent in our society through the ages. But the same doesn't hold true when we speak about the sexual harassment that our women genre face today. She has to go through the phase of whistles, unwanted touchings and forced intimacy regularly in her day to day life. Women working in offices or going to the colleges or universities or even schools experiences sexual harassment. But before to the Supreme Court guidelines on sexual harassment at workplaces there were hardly any suitable provisions to deal with such a behaviour.
Issues of sexual harassment in work places and academic institutions are on the rise as more and more women move out from their house to the world outside. Women of every social class and community are affected by this menace and even those from the highest strata or level of society are not spared and they go through some sort o sexual assault in some form or the other.
The Silence Culture
Now the question that crops into our mind is that then why women don't protest or complain against such an unbearable violence? Maybe the fear of getting unheard or social dignity or honour of the family coming at stake preventing them from lodging any complaint as such against sexual harassment and therefore it is taken as something very ordinary, normal and trifle matter. Women learn to accept unwanted sexual behavior as a part and parcel of their modern life. To be precise, its overall effects on women are just ignored and kept in silence.
Companies, offices and organisations utilises this silence of women to the maximum and often refuses to accept the occurrence of any sexual harassment as they fear that it might ruin the image of their institutes. There are some examples when women finally raised their voices to the authorities but it was met with the common reaction of ignorance or denial by the authorities. Sexual harassment is not rare and it is touching the lives of almost 40% to 60% of working women going to colleges and universities.
Reality
In our day to day lives, the increasing number of eve-teasing, rape and murder across the country proves the existence of sexual harassment in our society. There are so many examples and evidences to reflect the nature, type and effect of sexual harassment in academic institutions.
Students- Easy Prey.
Sexual harassment among students
During festivals like Holli and Diwali and in colleges during ragging of freshers or in college fest incidents of sexual harassment among students are at the peak. But this doesn't mean that harassment doesn't occur at other times and places. A lot of sexual harassment among students takes place through verbal comments and jokes:- "He is my senior in college. Everyday he suggests me to go out on dates with him and seems to always complimenting me on my look and clothes. Whenever I walk past him, his friends jokes about us as if we are a couple. This really irritates me, but there is not much I can do about it. My friends tell me I am over reacting", says a first year students of economics.
Sometimes harassment like this takes uglier forms. Deep humiliations as at times forced students to take their lives. Says a fifth-year engineering student, "It is a traditional practice that freshers are paraded in the nude, before the boys/girls hostel amidst cheering and catcalls. Some are unable to bear this and leave the college".
When teachers turns abusers.
At times, teachers abuses their power and position upon the female students. They ask the students for sexual favours in exchange for better grades and academic performance. This is particularly true of research scholars. A girl doing a doctorate in Physical Education in a university near Kolkata had been sexually abused by her research guide over a period of time. On completion of her research she lodged a written complaint with the university authorities. " I dared not protest during my research as the occused was my guide and could tamper with my results", said she. This fear of reprisal often forces many women to bear the abuse silently while others give up their acacemic careers in dispair.
To prove that sexual harassment is prevalent in educational institutes I am providing a part of the news printed out in The Telegraph newspaper on August, 1999."The case at Presidency College also received media attention. A teacher of the Zoology department of the college had allegedly attempted to molest a post graduate student when she went to his chamber before class hours to get her copies corrected. The teacher himself had asked the student to see him. Following agitation from students and activists in the city, the government later suspended the teacher of the state-run institution". The Telegraph : August 1999
Vulnerable situations
Students appear particularly vulnerable in some situations : while working in the laboratory during sports training, in drama and classes. A student of chemistry, talks of her professor : "I was working in the lab when he suddenly embraced me. This was nothing new. Many of us have been his targets in the past...." Another recounts her harrowing experiences with a particular professor at drama school. While training his students, his teacher often abused them physically. He also found other ways of demeaning them. "Once, he asked me to go home, examine my body before the mirror and submit a detailed, descriptive account or 'what you saw' to him. Apparently, this was the only way I'd learn to appreciate my physical assets which could enhance my performance on stage."
Students fear harassment from college staff
Many students complained of being harassed by members of the non-teaching staff. Says a student of district College : "We have to get our attendance records updated prior to the examinations. The office clerks do the required paper work. Sometimes they promise to overlook errors in the records of female students if the later were are already to comply with their sexual demands." A second year student in a college in Kolkata feels that his classmates do not always perceive that they are being harassed. "The clerks detain some of the girls unnecessarily, chatting and joking with them." Recently, a student of Raja Narendra Lal Women's College in Midnapore, has accused a class four staff of molestation. The girl's father has lodged a complaint with the police. The accused in his turn has testified that he is not guilty rather the girls in the college hostel often harass him in this manner. The students of the college say : "The incident occurred in front of a music teacher of the college, yet the Principal is trying to overlook the matter."
Ananda Bazar Patrika : May20, 2001
Campus turns unsafe
Strangers and outsiders also pose a threat to the students. Eve teasing and rude comments by strangers, who hover around college and hostel campus and crank calls at midnight, disturbing girls at college hostels, are regular features in most institutions. Girls are frequently harassed by local youths on their way to the college. This is why, especially in the suburbs and districts, few parents allow daughters to be educated if the school or college which is situated far from home.
Cases of sexual harassment and eve teasing against girl students in Lucknow University are on rise. According to a study conducted by the women's studies department of the University, on an average each girl student on the campus is subjected to some form of sexual harassment at least five times a day. Cases of eve teasing in canteens, classrooms and buses have gone up. Calling the trend on the campus "retrogressive, embrassing and humiliating", the authorities said that the policemen in plain clothes would be deployed to keep an eye on eve teasers and take action against them. The Telegraph : August 27,2000
School children : not spared either
Incidents of sexual harassment of young girls in schools are on the rise. A fifteen year old girl was allegedly raped by her tutor at Prunahar in Labpur area in Birbhum. The tutor is also a science teacher in the school where the girl is a student of class 9. On the day of the incident, he sent back his other students but asked the girl to stay, saying he would solve sums for her. Once the others had left, the tutor raped her. The Telegraph : July 7, 2001
Teachers : How safe is their work place?
Within the teaching community, harassment among colleagues is not rare. Says a woman teacher : "I was appointed as junior lecturer to the university on a temporary basis. A senior professor in the department assured me a permanent post if I accompanied him on weekend trips. When I reported the incident to my departmental head, he advised me to remain silent as the harasser's influence in academic circles could jeopardise my future prospects."
Other forms of sexual harassment are also prevalent. Sexist jokes are common in staff rooms of some colleges. Offensive behavior includes singing lewd songs, cracking vulgar jokes and other behavior creating a hostile work environment.
Sexual harassment remains to a large extent an invisible crime. The cases narrated above reveal only the tip of the iceberg, a small reflection of sexual violence in academic institutions. Unless we can explore the deep links between the status of women and the incidence of sexual harassment, the nature and pattern of the crime and its widespread acceptance in society, sexual harassment will continue to remain invisible and unchecked.
It is the Supreme Court Guidelines on Sexual Harassment at work place that made the first attempt to break the silence that surrounds the sexual harassment, by defining it and providing adequate measures to all women, to fight for their rights.
The Supreme Court Guidelines
Many more cases of sexual harassment at work places were being reported from different parts of the country. The question arose, whether the State and employer have any accountability in ensuring safe working environment for women.Leading social activists filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court of India demanding protection of women workers
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And in a landmark judgement on August 13, 1997, the Supreme Court of India issued guidelines on Sexual Harassment at Workplace.
Applicable to
* Schools, colleges and universities, hospitals, government, public and private organisations, both organised and unorganised sectors of work.
* All women employees, irrespective of their posts and earning pattern, will benefit from this guidelines - those drawing a regular salary, or receiving an honorarium, or working in a voluntary capacity. Students in colleges and universities and all the undergraduate, postgraduate and research levels also falls under this purview.
Definition
Sexual harassment is any conduct that is sexual in nature and unwelcome.The Supreme Court of India defines sexual harassment as any unwelcome
* Physical contact and advance
* Demand or request for sexual favour
* Sexually coloured joke or remark
* Display of pornography
* Any other physical, verbal or nonverbal behaviour with sexual undertones.
Impact and consequences
For Women : In addition to psychological and emotional effects like anger, helplessness and depression, women also suffer from physical maladies like headaches and nervous breakdowns. Sexual harassment causes a hostile, intimidating and offensive work environment. It limit's women's career options, training opportunities and earning potential. This can adversely affect the performance of the students.
For Institution: For the institution, in addition to sick pay and medical insurance, consequences also include reduced work efficiency and at times, high legal costs and fines. Costs of recruiting and training new people may also emerge, especially where an employer has failed to undertake effective intervention. Drop out and failure levels of students are high and the institution receives a lot of negative publicity.
What Institutions Can Do?
Authorities often tend to turn a blind eye, thinking that sexual harassment happens only in certain kinds of institutions and that if they do not receive any complaints from women, it means their institution is gender friendly. They could not be more mistaken! Women are often silent because they believe that the authorities are reluctant to take action and studies indicate the response of authorities to sexual harassment has been generally poor.
Adopt Policy
The onus of adopting a policy on sexual harassment lies with the management. The attitude of an institution towards its students and employees is reflected on how sensitively the policy is drawn up. The policy will establish certain rules and standards of behaviour and shapes the culture of the institution. The policy will give us a clear signal :
* the institution will not tolerate behaviour that vitiates the work atmosphere.
* disciplinary action will be taken against complaints.
* complaints will be treated with sympathy, confidentiality and seriousness.
Implement The Policy
In an effort to mainstream institutional accountability of women's rights, the Supreme Courts Guidelines mentions the formations of a Complaints Committee. This Committee can be responsible for implementing the institution's policy on sexual harassment. The role and responsibility of the Committee is to prevent sexual harassment in the institution and to provide redress if a complaint is lodged.
For The Larger Good
The Supreme Court Guidelines on Sexual Harassment at work place aim at assisting a transition of attitudes as well as assuring greater respect for women as workers in the community, students in educational institutions and employees in public or private sector industry. However, most women are unfamiliar with the legal measures available to redress or combat sexual harassment. It is imperative that awareness be generated to acquaint people of their rights and provide measures of support.
Universities in Delhi, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have taken the first step towards ensuring a harassment free environment for their students and employees by adopting sexual harassment policies that outline preventive and redress mechanisms.
First of all, I would like to thank the Boddunan community for compelling me to write this article. You all wanted to know how I have managed to pursue my dreams and whether one should pursue his own dreams or not. Well, one should always follow his passions and I hope my personal story inspires you to follow and successfully complete your dreams.