NCW drafts bill on harassment at workplace

The National Commission for Women (NCW) today unveiled a draft legislation on prevention of sexual harassment at workplace which it hopes will be tabled in next Parliament.

The draft bill has been prepared by the NCW after consultations with women’s groups, corporates, industrial groups and government agencies over the past two years. The bill, called the Sexual harassment of women at the workplace (Prevention and redressal) Bill, has been forwarded to the Government.

If it becomes a law, it would make employers directly responsible towards checking harassment of women employees. Each workplace would have to set up an internal complaints committee, to be headed by a woman, to redress complaints of sexual harassment. The committee would even award punishment.