Participants of the legal awareness programme conducted by the DDLSA and The Morung Express in Dimapur on December 17.
Morung Express News
Dimapur | December 17
A legal awareness programme on sexual harassment in the workplace was conducted by the Dimapur District Legal Services Authority (DDLSA) in collaboration with The Morung Express on December 17 at Café Leon, Dimapur.
Sharing the genesis and mandate of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013, Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) and DDLSA Secretary, Somet C Chang informed that there were no cases of sexual harassment at workplace reported in Nagaland till date.
According to a press release issued by the Press Information Bureau on November 29, 2019 which listed details of number of sexual harassment complaints received from private/ public entities through SHe-Box in States/UTs since 2017, there were zero complaints registered in Nagaland.
SHe-Box is an online portal launched in November 2017 to ensure the effective implementation of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013.
While the data shows reported cases as zero, the CJM also acknowledged the possibility of the cases going unreported due to various reasons.
One reason, she opined, could be that the Internal Complaints Committees (ICC) are not ‘very functional’.
“Only if the committees are functional, there will be registration of complaints, followed by police cases after which it will be heard in the courts. However, till this day, no such case has been received,” she shared.
Section 4 of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013 mandates that, “Every employer of a work place shall, by an order in writing, constitute a committee to be known as the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC).”
On May 29, 2013, the Government of Nagaland notified the terms and conditions of the Complaints Committee for State Level and District Level Committees for the redressal of complaints relating to sexual harassment of women employees of the State Government at their work places.
On March 2019, the State government directed all the departments to constitute Internal Committee (IC) in every workplace/directorate/NGOs/Autonomous body/organization. The committee was obliged to provide protection and redress complaints of sexual harassment cases against women in the State as prescribed under the Act.
‘Women are still scared’
According to Somet C Chang, another reason for ‘zero cases’ of sexual harassment at the workplace is fear. The harassment, stigmatization and discrimination associated with being a victim of sexual harassment, especially in the work place could be one of the main reasons for women choosing to keep silent, she opined.
For complaints to be registered with and taken up by the Complaints Committee, written consent of the victim, or in case of the complainant’s demise, a written consent of her legal heir is required as per the Act.
This is why sensitization is very important, she said, and stressed on the role of media in disseminating information about various prevention, prohibition and redressal provisions in the Act.
She also stated that through various legal awareness programmes, the district legal service authorities are also involved in sensitizing about such issues.
The DDLSA Secretary also shared that the conditions are improving, but there is still work to be done for women to be fully free from discrimination and harassment. She highlighted the importance of men taking an active part and responsibility in ensuring the same.
During the programme, Dzuvino Chadi, Panel Lawyer, DDLSA presented on Food Security Act; Moatila Ao, Panel Lawyer, DDLSA spoke on health schemes and social welfare schemes; and Yanbemo Ngullie, Panel Lawyer, DDLSA spoke on National Flag Code and Fundamental Duties.
The programme was chaired by Sangto Longchar, Panel Lawyer, DDLSA.
The Morung Express ICC
In accordance with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013, The Morung Express constituted an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) on February 1, 2019.
The Committee is headed by Akangjungla, Director, news and administration of The Morung Express as Chairperson; Imtimoa Ross, Business Executive, The Morung Express; and NK Keny, Social Worker as members.
