SPPU instructs colleges to upload details on sexual harassment portal

The Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) has instructed affiliated colleges and institutions to upload details of their internal sexual harassment committes and complaints received by these committes to the Ministry of Woman and Child Development’s Sexual Harassment electronic Box (SHe-Box) portal. Dated March 7, the circular also instructs colleges to upload the necessary information to the government’s Saksham portal and the UAMP portal as well.

The colleges have been asked to upload these details to an improved version of the SHe Box portal developed under Supreme Court orders. This website has been activated since August 29, 2024. Officiating Registrar of SPPU Dr Jyoti Bhakare said through the circular that after the information is uploaded on the three portals, a compliance report must be shared with SPPU’s internal committee through a Google Form.

The Government of India enacted The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, also known as the POSH Act, with the objective to create a safe and secure workplace for women free from sexual harassment. According to the SHe box website, Sexual Harassment electronic Box (SHe-Box) is an effort by the government to provide a single window access to every woman, irrespective of her work status, whether working in organised or unorganised, private or public sector, to facilitate the registration of complaints related to sexual harassment.

Last month, the Supreme Court had imposed Rs 5,000 fines on the states of Manipur, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, and the UT of Pondicherry for failure to report compliance of Supreme Court directions regarding the POSH Act.

Soham Shah

Soham is a Correspondent with the Indian Express in Pune. A journalism graduate, he was a fact-checker before joining the Express. Soham currently covers education and is also interested in civic issues, health, human rights, and politics. ... Read More