Unmasking The Challenges For Women: A Decade Of The Sexual Harassment Act, 2013
- IJLLR Journal
- Aug 17
- 2 min read
Ram Krishna Mani Tripathi, Research Scholar, Atal Bihari Vajpayee School of Legal Studies, Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University, Kanpur
ABSTRACT
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH Act) is a milestone in the legal efforts of India toward protecting women against sexual harassment at workplace. The Act was based on the Vishaka Guidelines of 1997, whereby the Act entailed codification of preventive, prohibitive, and redressal mechanisms to compel organizations to implement the Internal Complaints Committees (ICC) as well as the Local Complaints Committees (LCC). Nevertheless, it has not been effective in the recent past due to major deficits in awareness, implementation and procedural justice. This paper is a critical analysis of how the Act came into prominence through the court interventions in Vishaka v. The State of Rajasthan up to the latest case laws, the recurring issues like confinement to the restricted range of formal employment relations, limited time frame to make complaints, and the controversial aspect of the mandate on conciliation. Based on legislative history, NCRB data (2018–2022), and landmark judgments, an analysis highlights how systemic obstacles, weak law enforcement, fear of retaliation, and social stigma that prevent reporting.
The paper also discussed the physical, psychological, and economic consequences of workplace harassment on women, exposing its far reaching effects on females in terms of equality, labour force participation, and their economic security. Other incidents in the news depict how effective enforcement, gender sensitization, and victim-focused reforms are required. The results support the idea of amending the policymakers to cover the non- traditional workplace environments, remove unjustified procedural restrictions, reinforce ICC responsibility, and incorporate foreign provisions of human rights into national jurisdiction (such as CEDAW). India can build a powerful bridge between the intention of laws and their practical application, and thereby converting the POSH Act into an instrument of effective empowerment and turning workplaces into safe, inclusive, and equitable environments, wherein women thrive.
Keywords: Sexual Harassment, POSH Act 2013, Vishaka Guidelines, Workplace Safety, Gender Equality, Legal Reform
