When waves rise, we fall! May 24, 2021, 1:31 PM IST
Dr Rajesh Tandon is Founder President of PRIA, New Delhi
Last week, when I went for a walk in my neighbourhood, I found 3-4 young women hesitatingly begging from the passers-by. I recognised one of them as she used to work as a maid in my neighbour’s home. Since the ‘rise’ of the second wave of Covid infections in April this year, she was ‘let go’ in the middle of last month.
Little do we realise that ‘letting go’ of a temporary domestic worker, many a time through just a phone call (“do not come from tomorrow”) may suddenly shatter a family, its livelihood and self-respect. Millions of domestic workers have faced this reality in the past month, once again. Their situation around large cities has once again become precarious.
India: Speaking out against harassment of domestic workers
Journalists, comedians and actors figured prominently in India s #MeToo movement in 2018, coming out with stories of harassment at the hands of men in power. While offices and workplaces are gradually improving protections offered to workers, many women in the informal sector remain invisible. DW follows a domestic worker who is pushing back against harassment.
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Almost 24 years after India got its first guidelines to prevent sexual harassment at the workplace and eight years after the government enacted a law for it, there are few publicly available data on how efficient these mechanisms are, an IndiaSpend review found. In fact, the government maintains no centralised data relating to cases of harassment of women at workplaces, the Parliament was told in July 2019. Also, 95 per cent of India s women workers are employed in the informal sector and find it difficult to access legal mechanisms to report sexual harassment at workplace, experts told IndiaSpend. On February 17, a Delhi court acquitted journalist Priya Ramani in a defamation lawsuit filed by former editor and sitting member of parliament M J Akbar for accusing him of sexual harassment in 1993.
Eight years on, India’s law to prevent workplace sexual harassment is marred by poor data collection
While many women in formal employment can take advantage of the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act, many who work in informal jobs have no such access. Representational image. | PTI
Almost 24 years after India got its first guidelines to prevent sexual harassment at the workplace and eight years after the government enacted a law for it, there are few publicly available data on how efficient these mechanisms are, an
IndiaSpend review found
In fact,
the government maintains no centralised data relating to cases of harassment of women at workplaces, the Parliament was
8 Years On, Poor Compliance With Sexual Harassment Law indiaspend.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from indiaspend.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.