Help can be sought only when you know there is a redressal mechanism. In this series on the Sexual Harassment of Women at Work Place (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH Act), Diversity Digest presents the what, who and how of it. POSH Act is an important law that enables the safety of women in the workplace—an essential step to creating a psychologically safe space for them. For POSH Act to be effective, both companies and women need to be aware of its provisions.
In Part 1, we look at what sexual harassment can look like.
Seema, Rohit, Rahim, and Jasmine are the best of friends. They grew up in the same locality and went to the same school and college. The best of buddies parted ways after they got placed in different companies in different cities.
Now, after six months of finding their feet in their careers, they planned a gala reunion. All of them were looking at a lot of catching up and were eagerly awaiting the day.
And the day dawned beautifully. Excitedly, they met up for lunch planned in their favorite restaurant. They were all bear-hugging each other.
Having been the best buddies for years, in no time, they realized something was amiss about one of them. She was not the usual chirpy chatterbox. The other three sensed that something was not right with Jasmine. They knew, eventually, she would open up and tell them, but the suspense was too much to ignore.
As the men in the group went to look around the buffet spread for a quick recce, Seema tried prodding Jasmine. In the beginning, Jasmine denied and feigned a headache, claiming it made her dull and glum. But she couldn’t pretend any longer and broke down.
As Rohit and Rahim approached their table, Seema told them to leave them alone for some time as she wanted to talk to Jasmine alone.
What it can look like
After several uncomfortable pauses, Jasmine confided that she was being harassed by her senior at work.
Here is what Jasmine said: it began like a usual episode of a fresher’s work journey. At first, she thought her senior was just being nice and friendly to her as she was new to the city. But as the days went by, he started approaching her regularly and kept asking her out while she kept saying a firm ‘no’. Then one day he broke all the rules and told her that if she didn’t go out with him, he will have her name blacklisted and keep her out of all the important meetings and client updates.
Seema knew that Jasmine loved her work and was gaining a foothold in the organization, despite being a fresher. Now, her job was in jeopardy— she was talking about resigning.
There is help
“Don’t be ridiculous,” said Seema, admonishing her friend. “One unscrupulous person shouldn’t put your career on the dock. And, what is the guarantee that this will not happen again elsewhere?” she asked angrily.
“Then what is the solution?” asked Jasmine. “You make sense when you say I shouldn’t consider quitting, but I don’t know how to handle it.”
I have a fantastic solution, Seema informed gleefully. “Just reach out to your POSH Committee members and tell them that you are being harassed by this senior of yours.”
“Wait, what is a POSH Committee?” asked Jasmine.
“Don’t you know what is a POSH committee?” asked Seema, alarmed by the response.
“Okay, let me tell you all about this Committee. You promise me that you will treat me to my favorite butterscotch Ice cream,” and they struck a deal.
To be continued…
