GUIDELINES ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT READDRESSEL COMMITTEE (SHRC)

Basic Way of Thinking

• All Employees should have a sense of Security in workplace irrespective of their sex
• No Employee shall be harassed in the Company by the virtue of his / her sex or external appearance
• It is the responsibility of the company to prevent or deter the commission of acts of sexual harassment by developing appropriate internal norms

Purpose

• To prevent or deter the commission of acts of sexual harassment inside the company premises
• To form a Sexual Harassment Redressal Committee to attend to the grievances related to sexual harassment inside the company premises. 3.To comply with the legal requirements.

What is Sexual Harassment?

Sexual Harassment includes such unwelcome behaviour (whether directly or by implication) as

• Physical Contact and advances
• A demand or request for sexual favours
• Sexually coloured remarks
• Showing pornography
• Any other unwelcomephysical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature

Experiencing sexual harassment when one of the following is true

• It is stated or understood that you must submit to the behaviour in order to get or keep a job (an explicit or implicit term or condition of employment)
• Employment decisions are based on whether or not you go along with the behaviour, or
• The behaviour creates a hostile or offensive or intimidating and abusive work environment that changes the conditions of your job
• Sexual harassment is conduct based upon sex, whether directed toward a person of the same or opposite sex

Hostile environment

Sexual harassment occurs where the sexually oriented conduct of one employee creates an offensive and unpleasant working environment for any other employee. Harassment is often about one person (or a group of people) using power inappropriately over another person / group of people. But harassment can also happen between people when there is no power relationship. It may simply create a hostile environment.

Depending on the circumstances, each of the following kinds of behaviour may be sexual harassment:

• .Material that is sexual in nature, sexist, sexually explicit and is displayed in the workplace, circulated, or put in someone's workspace or belongings, or on a computer or fax machine or the Internet or any other public display system or public place in the work premises. This will also lead to misuse of company facilities.
• Verbal abuse or comments that put down people because of their sex.
• Comments about people's (women/men) bodies.
• Pressure for dates.
• Sexually explicit gestures, unwelcome touching and hugging.
• Sexist jokes and cartoons. There is a difference between harmless humour which may refer to gender, race and so on and using a racist, sexist or other types of stereotyping jokes to have a "dig" at someone (and therefore to harass them). If this difference is not clear or if someone is offended, the behaviour should stop immediately
• Obscene phone calls
• Displaying pornography in the workplace.
• Insisting that workers wear revealing clothing
• Inappropriate gifts.
• Discussion of one's partner's sexual inadequacies
• Lewd and threatening letters.
• Sexual sneak attacks (such as grabbing private parts on the run), Indecent exposure, Subtle or overt pressure for sexual favours, Soliciting & demanding sexual services, Sexual or physical contact, such as slapping, kissing or touching. Intrusive questions about sexual activity, Sexual assault, repeated sexual invitations when the person invited has refused/ignored similar invitations.
• Coerced sexual intercourse (e.g., as a condition of employment or academic status). In some cases, a single act may be enough to amount to harassment.

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