Vishakha Committees in Educational Institutions

Vishakha Committees in Educational Institutions

It is a matter of concern that a large number of educational institutions including universities, colleges and schools in Assam have not constituted Internal Complaint Committees under provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition & Redressal) Act, 2013. While the Act specifically provides for constitution of the Internal Complaints Committee, this Committee, which is popularly known as Vishakha Committee, had come into being when the Supreme Court passed a very significant judgment in the historic Vishakha and Others vs. State of Rajasthan case of 1997, a case where Vishakha and other women groups had filed a PIL against State of Rajasthan and Union of India to enforce the fundamental rights of working women under Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution.

The petition was filed after Bhanwari Devi, a social worker of Rajasthan, was brutally gang-raped for preventing a child marriage. The apex court decided that consideration of international conventions and norms were significant for the purpose of interpretation of the guarantee of gender equality and right to work with human dignity in Articles 14, 15, 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution and safeguards against sexual harassment are implicit therein. The petition thus resulted in the Supreme Court setting the ball rolling for formulating what came to be popularly known as the Vishakha Guidelines, with the Committee emanating thereof coming to be also known as the Vishakha Committee.

The judgment of August 1997 given by a bench comprising then Supreme Court Chief Justice JS Verma, Justice Sujata and Justice BN Kirpal, provided the basic definitions of sexual harassment of women at workplace and provided guidelines to deal with it. It is seen as a very significant legal victory for women’s groups in India. This judgment also for the first time defined sexual harassment, which includes such unwelcome sexually determined behaviour (whether directly or by implication) as – a) physical contact and advances; b) demand or request for sexual favours; c) sexually coloured remarks; d) showing pornography; e) any other unwelcome physical verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature. While this landmark judgment was followed six years later by the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition & Redressal) Act, 2013, which came into force with effect from December 9, 2013, constitution of Internal Complaints Committees or Vishakha Committee has become all the more important. It is however pathetic that a large number of educational institutions in Assam have flouted the law, prompting the authorities to write letters to them asking them to constitute such committees at the earliest.

The list of such institutions which have not yet constituted Vishakha Committees in Assam unfortunately include eight universities – considered to be centres of higher education – which should have, in reality, guided colleges and other lower institutions on the importance of setting up such committees, apart from teaching both faculty members and students the significance of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition & Redressal) Act, 2013. With a sizeable section of teachers being women, and with female students outnumbering male students in most varsities, it is all the more important. While all universities, colleges and other educational institutions should immediately conform to the provisions of the Act, what will be more appreciated is a social outreach programme that such institutions can take up to generate awareness among all sections of society about sexual harassment, how to protect girls and women from such harassment and how to seek redressal. After all, it is a well-known fact that most of the perpetrators of sexual harassment are generally men who are in authority, close relations, colleagues and persons known to the victims.

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