The Sexual Harassment at workplace Act of India has been widely criticized for presuming that it is the woman who is the victim.
Our patriarchal mindsets are disallowing us get out of the internalized biases as can be seen from the recent comment by our Women and Child Development minister who proclaimed that the 'Westernized concept' of marital rape cannot be applicable to a country like India.
But does this Act have anything which can ensure safety at workplaces?
The answer is yes.
A simple takeaway from a flawed law like this could be that any organization for whose benefit these laws are made can make the scope of the protection wider by voluntarily ensuring that they implement laws which are gender neutral and have sessions for their employees where the inherent biases are brought forward and questioned.
For professionals who wish to work in this field, it becomes extremely important to have a mindset beyond the script of the law.
Our patriarchal mindsets are disallowing us get out of the internalized biases as can be seen from the recent comment by our Women and Child Development minister who proclaimed that the 'Westernized concept' of marital rape cannot be applicable to a country like India.
But does this Act have anything which can ensure safety at workplaces?
The answer is yes.
A simple takeaway from a flawed law like this could be that any organization for whose benefit these laws are made can make the scope of the protection wider by voluntarily ensuring that they implement laws which are gender neutral and have sessions for their employees where the inherent biases are brought forward and questioned.
Picture from Matej Kastelic/www.shutterstock.com
For professionals who wish to work in this field, it becomes extremely important to have a mindset beyond the script of the law.
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