A Brief About Research Study On
Sexual Harassment At Work Place
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Sexual Harassment at the Workplace
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The research on Sexual Harassment at the workplace was conducted by HHS in collaboration with Sakshi
- a Delhi based women’s organization - in the year: 1999-2000.
This study was taken up after the landmark Vishaka judgment recognizing sexual harassment as a human rights violation. The judgment, in its guidelines to address sexual harassment at the workplace directed employers to set up sexual harassment complaints
committees - a redressal mechanism.
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The objectives of the study:
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Understand the
perceptions and attitudes of workers towards sexual harassment
at the workplace.
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To initiate discussions in the workplace on the issue of sexual harassment.
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Collect crucial data on the prevalence of sexual harassment at
the workplace and the kind of mechanisms in place at the workplace after the Vishaka judgment.
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Step up advocacy efforts in addressing Sexual harassment as a
human rights violation.
The study
started with the premise that sexual harassment hasn’t entered the public discourse at
the workplace. Consequently, workers might not relate instances of sexual harassment.
The underpinning of the study is that women’s sexuality is at the core of violence against women and there is
an inadequate information base on women’s sexuality from a feminist perspective. The silence surrounding sexuality prevents women from exploring conjoint
experiences or making linkages for collective political action. This furthers the mechanism to define and control women’s sexuality and expression.
Methodology: This study used twin methodology of workshops and survey. The survey was done through a pre-designed questionnaire. The workshops introduced the concept of sexual harassment as
a rights violation and familiarize them with the Supreme
Court guidelines.
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| Sample
size
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502
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| Women respondents
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319
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| Men respondents
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183
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| Sectors for study
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5
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Sectors: Education, Government departments, Information Technology (IT), Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) and
the unorganized sector.
| A glimpse at the findings:
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57% of women across the sectors said that they have heard
of or encountered sexual harassment. The highest percentage (82.2 %) was in
the unorganized sector. 32% of women across sectors said that they haven’t heard
of or encountered sexual harassment. We have to note that women presume sexual harassment is limited to unwanted physical contact and do not take verbal harassment into consideration.
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45%
of men across sectors say that women they know have encountered or heard of sexual harassment. The highest percentage (64%) of men saying this is in
the Government sector.
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30% of women and 17% of men say sexual harassment happens sometimes. 32.3% of women and 19.1% of men say the ‘immediate superior is the perpetrator of sexual
harassment'. 27.6% of women and 25% of men name coworker as the perpetrator. 36.4% of women and 20.2 % of men say that no action was taken against the
harasser.
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Only 25.5% of the women respondents answered the question about responses when the complaint was lodged. Amongst them 24% faced
humiliation and 23% received threats.
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49.5% of the women attribute sexual harassment to gender role difference in society and 46.4% said social upbringing.
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54.8% of men and 40% of men say there would be a healthy work environment if the guidelines of the
Supreme Court were implemented. 30% of the women say the workplace would be sensitized to women’s realities.
What is evident from the figures that the study gathers is that men and women do not recognize sexual harassment as an equality issue. They see no apparent linkages between gender inequality in society, public spheres, family, at the
workplace and its manifestations in the form of violence against women. Sexual harassment is seen within the formal equality framework, something that is between the victim and the perpetrator.
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