Watch: Maneka Gandhi Shares 'Self Training' Video for Victims of Sexual Harassment on Twitter

With a wave of sexual harassment accusations sweeping the country in the past week, Union Woman and Child Development (WCD) Minister Maneka Gandhi on Saturday posted a ‘self-training’ video on Twitter, to “help working women and men, as well as employers, understand the nuances of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Work Act (2013)”.

Gandhi had earlier condemned sexual harassment at the workplace and called it a ‘violent crime’.

Amid rising allegations against men from various walks of life, including Union minister MJ Akbar, the WCD ministry had said in a tweet that it was trying to put in place a legal and administrative structure along with alternate mechanism, for grievance redressal.

Following up on the tweet about the redressal mechanism, the WCD Minister on Saturday shared a ‘self-training’ video on Twitter.

Legally, sexual harassment in India is defined as “unwelcome sexually determined behavior (whether directly or by implication) as physical contact and advances; a demand or request for sexual favors; sexually colored remarks; showing pornography; any other unwelcome physical verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature. These were spelt out in 1997 under the Vishakha Guidelines that were superceded by the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013. The video explains how sexual harassment is a gross violation of a woman’s dignity and equality and goes on to show what victims of sexual harassment could do to tackle such violations.

On October 9, Gandhi had announced that victims facing sexual harassment at work can also file complaints with Shebox.nic.in. While Gandhi’s efforts were appreciated, some claimed that such efforts needed to be more inclusive of all women.

(The story was first published on October 13, 2018)

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