Prevention of Gender-Based Violence and Harassment at Workplace in India

Goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. Targets 5.1 and 5.2 of goal 5 aim to end all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere and eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation. These spheres include the workplace as well.[1] All persons in India are equal before the law, and the state does not discriminate against any citizen on the grounds of sex and provides liberty for all as per Articles 14, 15, and 21 of the constitution of India.[2] It is important to understand that the state does not discriminate against individuals based on the social construct of gender or biological sex. India ratifies the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and adopts measures to achieve full equality between men and women.[3] Over recent years, many measures have been undertaken by different ministries and sectors to achieve gender equality. However, the country ranks 122 in the Global Gender Inequality Index and 135 in the Global Gender Gap Index.[4] Female empowerment and economic participation are crucial to achieve a better rank in these composite indices.

The public health issue of gender-based violence (GBV) is deeply rooted in gender inequality. GBV can occur to any individual because of their gender. This includes women, men, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) individuals. Women suffer disproportionately from the GBV. Violence against women is any act of violence based on gender that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or mental harm or suffering to women. These acts could include threats of acts, coercion, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty in public or private life.[5] Domestic violence occurring in families or between intimate partners can be physical, psychological, emotional, economic, or sexual. Sexual harassment is a type of violence against women under the sexual violence category. When it occurs at the workplace, it is called workplace sexual harassment (WSH). When it occurs in public places, it is called street harassment. As per the International Labour Organization, WSH contains the following important elements – Quid pro quo: Any physical, verbal, or nonverbal conduct of a sexual nature and other conduct based on sex affecting the dignity of women and men, which is unwelcome, unreasonable and offensive to the recipient, and a person's rejection of, or submission to, such conduct is used explicitly or implicitly as a basis for a decision which affects the person's job and Hostile working environment: Conduct that creates an intimidating, hostile or humiliating working environment for the recipient.[6]

Women's labor participation is increasing at the cost of double the burden of paid work at the workplace and unpaid domestic chores and child-rearing responsibilities at home.[7] A working woman can be considered as empowered; however, due to the gendered division of labor, women face this double burden. Only around a third of women in the country participate in the labor force, and if this population, while at work, experiences WSH, it compromises the achievement of decent work which aims to achieve fair income, secure workplace, social protection, liberty for individuals to share their concerns and equal opportunity and treatment irrespective of gender.[8]

Assessment of the prevalence of WSH is a challenge due to cultures of silence at the workplace due to gender dynamics at the workplace and the society at large. Both qualitative and quantitative methods of research or mixed methods can be conducted to assess the precise estimate of this problem at the workplace. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), across sectors, when WSH surveys are conducted in query method, the prevalence ranges from 0.6–26.1%. However, when behavioral acts such as sexually colored comments, inappropriate staring, unwelcome touch, and cat calls are included, the prevalence ranges from 14.5–98.8%. Victim-survivors of WSH usually neglect, resist, or tolerate the issue.[9] Due to the stigma around this issue, researchers should build trust with the workers and use participatory methods to assess the prevalence. In India, the prevalence of WSH is around 33–53%, and it is prevalent across all sectors and in all designations in women. Younger and migrant populations are more vulnerable.[10,11] In both these groups, there are challenges in collective bargaining, and among migrants, linguistic issues and lack of social protection in the state to which they have migrated can pose threats. A study done among retail shop women workers in Vellore City observed that 50% of them have experienced WSH in various forms. In this study, the common act of WSH experienced by women was of men calling them with words of endearment.[12] Currently, in the online or digital space, cyberbullying of women, nonconsensual sexting, and doxing, which involve the public release of private information, also occur.

WSH, similar to any type of violence against women, has both physical, mental, and social well-being consequences. In extreme cases, rape and murder of workers also have been reported in the media. Reproductive health consequences such as unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections also can occur. The consequences of the mental and emotional well-being of a woman after WSH are long-term. Trauma and stress reactions, frustration, and passivity associated with WSH result in low self-esteem, leading to depression. WSH experiences can affect brain functions, affecting memory, concentration, and attention. Persons who experience WSH have higher levels of depression, and this has long-term effects on depressive symptoms in adulthood.[13] WSH is associated with increased odds of depression in a dose-response manner; more increase in reporting is associated with higher chances of depression.[14] Even in feminized occupations such as nursing, the prevalence of WSH can range up to 71%, and it is associated with depression, anxiety, and stress.[15] Feminized occupations such as the garment industry do not provide any protection from WSH because the power lies in the hands of men or women in superior positions who can harass the women. A cohort study done in Sweden has observed an association between WSH, illegitimate tasks (those tasks perceived as unnecessary due to violation of norms of what an employee is legitimately expected to perform) and burn out and depression.[16] A study done among humanitarian workers has observed that WSH increases depression and anxiety symptoms.[17] In the unorganized sector, sex workers are at high risk for violence. The current targeted interventions to prevent sexually transmitted infections among sex workers and decriminalization of the work under the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act are not sufficient to address the violence they experience from their clients.

As per the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013, an Internal Committee (IC) has to be constituted by every employer with a presiding officer who is a senior female employee, a minimum two employees from the workplace and one member from an external nongovernmental organization. For the benefit of the unorganized sector, every district has a Local Committee (LC), which is coordinated by the district head, usually a District Collector, with monitoring by the State Women Commission.[18] Any aggrieved woman can make in writing her complaint within 3 months of the date of the incident. After an inquiry into the complaint, the employer shall act upon the recommendations of the committee, and the act of sexual harassment must be considered as misconduct under the service rules. However, most women do not report WSH due to a lack of trust in the organization, its redressal mechanism, lack of legal awareness, professional victimization, retaliation, and stigma. Also, there is fear of loss of employment as well.[19] Workplaces are complex environments, and it is important to find, prevent, and mitigate the adverse human rights impacts. This can be achieved through human rights due diligence. One important aspect of this is the action after finding a risk at the workplace, leveraging the responsibility and actions, mitigating the risks, and remediation for the workers.[20] These intricacies in providing remediation for the problem of WSH cannot be addressed in the current framework. Women undergoing harassment require essential services, which include health care and justice. While the IC at the workplace, if functioning effectively, can address the justice, safety, and protection of women, revictimization should be avoided by survivor-centered services to break recurring cycles of violence.[21] Women undergoing harassment have complex and diverse needs, and the structural inequalities that underpin violence can compound the vulnerabilities. This can be better understood by using an intersectional lens to understand how various oppressions and experiences of discrimination can act together to worsen the consequences and occurrences of WSH in a vulnerable woman. Gender equality and social justice approaches at the workplace have transformative potential to improve the health of women holistically.[22] The first line of support a health care worker at the workplace can provide for a woman undergoing violence is LIVES, which is Listening with empathy and no judgment, Inquiring about needs and concerns, Validating the experience of violence, Enhancing safety and Support to connect with services.[23] This should follow an intersectional approach to ensure there is an understanding that other inequalities due to gender, caste, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, disability, class, and other forms of discrimination can intersect to create distinct vulnerabilities and effects.[24] LIVES provision can be performed by a nurse, doctor, welfare officer, HR professional, or a trained layperson. This will provide psychological support for the women. Problem Management Plus, a scalable psychological intervention, which is a feasible version of cognitive behavioral therapy, can be delivered to promote mental health and psychological well-being and alleviate symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress.[25] This training can be offered by mental health professionals to key employees at the workplace, and WSH, apart from most mental health issues, can be addressed at the primary prevention level at the workplace through this intervention. This can also establish referral networks to ensure women receive appropriate specialist mental health care. Healthy Activity Program, a 6–8 session behavioral activation with problem-solving aspects and activation of social support, can also be provided by lay counselors for cases of depression.[26,27] These types of programs can be planned by medical officers and employers with expert mental health professional guidance to promote the mental health of workers. Lay counselors or barefoot counselors generation at the workplace can also address common mental health issues at the workplace.

To establish a violence-free workplace, freedom of association, regular trainings on WSH, anti-retaliation protections, and transparency in business should be ensured by employers.[28] Prevailing cultural norms encourage a culture of impunity around GBV, and this should be dismantled. Employers should build a work culture based on mutual respect and dignity, taking into account the patriarchal society, gender stereotypes, gender norms, rape culture, honor-shame culture, and everyday sexism.[29] A proactive effort should be undertaken by employers and key staff to unlearn unconscious biases in the field of gender. There should be no tolerance towards the objectification of women and unfair treatment of LGBTQI+ individuals at the workplace. Workplaces should have a code of conduct prohibiting sexual harassment and clearly display and convey the consequences to workers. Those workers reporting sexual harassment should be protected, and confidentiality should be ensured.

More than 90% of the labor workforce in our country is involved in the informal economy engaged by socially, economically, and underprivileged communities. This economy is characterized by a lack of legal protection and social security benefits, and in many sectors like agriculture, ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist), Anganwadi workers under the health system, sex workers, domestic workers, waste handlers, construction workers under the informal economy, women are more involved. The formation of IC and the functioning of LC in the informal sector is a challenge. LCs receive complaints from the informal sector very rarely or never.[30] Dialogue with specific workers’ organizations, civil society organizations, and self-help groups in ensuring effective implementation of the law and awareness campaigns should be conducted to ensure the protection of workers in the informal sector. The current strategy of the Sexual Harassment electronic Box (SHe-Box) provides single window access to all women irrespective of sector of work; however, the awareness regarding the same, increasing ways to access the same through more stakeholder engagement and community participation, should be promoted.[31] Popular and social media initiatives to gain momentum on sexual harassment, such as the #MeToo movement, are not accessible for women in the informal sector who are not empowered to break the silence.[32]

In conclusion, women and LGBTQI+ individuals at the workplace should be protected from sexual harassment through legal measures, awareness generation through employers, and care and support, which can be provided by health care workers as well as by lay personnel. Regular audits and monitoring of cases of sexual harassment and the functioning of ICs, as well as LCs, should be conducted. Positive change in the work environment should be established through regular training and awareness sessions, clear remedial measures, and ensuring freedom of association.