NAGPUR: Workplace harassment laws in the country favour women and differentiate against men. These laws should be made gender neutral, demanded a coalition of multinational NGOs.
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, 2010 was passed by the Lok Sabha in September. NGOs like Save Indian Family Foundation, Men Seek Justice, All India Men's Welfare Association, Indian Affiliate Chapter of Association for International Men's Rights Activism and Welfare believe that the bill is a violation of the fundamental rights of any citizen not to be discriminated against on grounds like religion or sex.
"It is an outdated concept that only women are victims of sexual harassment. The bill was gender neutral to begin with till the intervention of the Women and Child Development (WCD) ministry and some militant women's NGOs, after which the name of the bill was changed to The Protection of Women from Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill, 2010," informed Rajesh Vakahria of city unit of Save Indian Family Foundation.
The ministry had said that they would conduct a survey on workplace harassment to see if it needs to include men but the survey has been pending since the last 15 years. "Some independent organizations have shown that a big proportion of those harassed at workplaces were men, who were abused by female bosses," he said. The words men and women must be replaced by gender-neutral terms like person, employee and boss in the bill, he added.
Make workplace harassment laws gender neutral, demand NGOs
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Make workplace harassment laws gender neutral, demand NGOs
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Make workplace harassment laws gender neutral, demand NGOs
