In response to the realization of the significance of establishing safe and courteous work environments, sexual harassment regulations have changed over time. These rules are designed to shield people from insulting and undesired behavior based on their gender. They enable victims to pursue legal action and encourage offenders to accept responsibility. The continual fight for gender equality and the realization of the damaging effects of harassment on both individuals and society are at the heart of the history of sexual harassment laws.

Sexual harassment legislation have evolved throughout time to recognise the significance of creating a safe and respected workplace. These laws seek to protect people from objectionable behavior that is motivated by a person's gender, giving victims legal recourse, and making offenders accountable. The continual fight for gender equality and the recognition of the damaging effects of harassment on both individuals and society are fundamental to the history of sexual harassment laws.

Introduction
There is a lot of sexual harassment in the workplace. Sexual harassment has happened to women all around the world, which calls for a strict regulation to stop it. In India, the Supreme Court's historic decision in Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan (1997) established the foundation for the Sexual Harassment at Workplace Law. Bhanwari Devi, a Dalit woman working as a social worker for the Rajasthani government's Rural Development Programme, was gang-raped in 1992.

This brought to light the prevalence of sexual harassment incidences at work in India. It resonated with the nation and exposed the dangers faced by working women in the workplace. The Union of India was given instructions and recommendations by the Supreme Court for a statute to prevent workplace sexual harassment.

These guidelines' primary goal was to give victims of workplace sexual harassment a forum for redress and complaint methods. The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act of 2013 (POSH) was inspired by these regulations. The Act is crucial since it covers the different types of sexual harassment and how a woman can report such behavior. For a very long time, there had been international agreements protecting women from violence.

They served as the basis for the Vishaka Guidelines in the following ways:

1. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) General Recommendation 19. Aspects of gender equality, gender-specific violence, and undesirable sexually determined behaviour have been incorporated into the POSH Act by India, a party to this agreement.
    
2. Employment and Occupation Convention of the International Labour Organisation on Discrimination (No. C111). This agreement was ratified by India on June 3rd, 1960. India is required under this Convention to forbid and prevent any form of gender-based discrimination in the workplace.

Early Changes To The Statute
Except for the Indian Penal Code, 1860, there was no statutory remedy that specifically addressed workplace sexual harassment prior to the adoption of the POSH Law. Only the following articles of the Indian Penal Code are applicable to sexual harassment:

• Sections 354 (outraging a woman's modesty) and 509 (insulting a woman's modesty) deal with these issues.
• Women who experienced sexual harassment at work had to report the incident to the police.

The case of Rupan Deol Bajaj vs. K.P.S. Gill (1995), in which a senior IAS official was sexually harassed by a higher officer and the recourse to the limited provisions of the IPC under, provides an example of the application of the Indian Penal Code.

Effects Of The Indian Instances
Two significant cases followed the Vishaka case, strengthening the legal protections against sexual harassment at work. The Supreme Court supported the termination of a superior official of the Delhi-based Apparel Export Promotion Council for sexual harassment in the case of Apparel Export Promotion Council v. A.K. Chopra (1999). The court broadened the concept of sexual harassment to say that "physical contact is not always essential for an act amounting to workplace sexual harassment." Any "unwelcome" conduct is viewed as sexual harassment.

Effects Of Posh Law
Three things happen as a result of the law:

1. Preventing a hostile workplace: A woman's sense of security, health, and mental stability are all impacted when she is subjected to sexual approaches and harassment. When it happens frequently, it can harm a woman psychologically over time, which could result in an unstable, unhealthy life. This is where the POSH Law and different rulings have come to the rescue.
    
2. Recognizing inappropriate behaviour: The argument over whether advancements are welcome or not is one that never ends. Some claim that it is based on a woman's "reasonableness," yet a test to assess if unwanted behaviour has occurred was deemed required after the POSH Law. In the Report of the Committee on Amendments to Criminal Law headed by the late Justice J.S. Verma (Author of the Vishaka Judgement), unwelcome behaviour was discussed as follows:
   "However, it is important to note that the definition requires some clarification since any interpretation of the word "unwelcome" as contained in the said definition must give due weight to both objective as well as subjective criteria in order to ensure that women of differing perceptions and comfort levels are given appropriate protection. Therefore, we suggest that after the definition of "sexual harassment", the following explanation may be inserted: "In determining whether the behaviour or act complained of is unwelcome, one of the factors to be given due weight shall be the subjective perception of the complainant."
    
3. Quid Pro Quo Harassment: The primary component of this type of harassment is when a sexual favour is demanded under threat of repercussions for the task at hand. Threats are typically made by someone in a higher rank, and the results could be anything from a reduction in status or pay to the loss of maternity benefits, among other things. For instance, Manav instructs anamikato engage in sexual activity. Anamika objects, but manav threatens to demote her and reduce her pay if she doesn't comply. This is a blatant instance of quid pro quo bullying. This crucial element was acknowledged by the Vishaka decision.

New Facets Of Sexual Harassment At Work

The world is evolving right now, and technology is becoming increasingly important to our daily lives. For instance, it would be offensive to Remya's modesty if Anil threatened to post a naked photo of her on social media at the office in order to acquire sexual advantages. This would be considered both sexual harassment and online abuse. As sexual harassment may not always be physical, cases like these should be reported to the internal complaints committee established by the organisation. In the modern era, social media and online platforms can be used.

Problem And Issue Raising
The issue of sexual harassment continues despite the fact that 98 percent of businesses claim to have sexual harassment policies and that many offer sexual harassment training, much of it online and solely to shield themselves from legal liability. 25 to 85% of women have reported being the victim of sexual harassment at work, according to a 2016 EEOC literature analysis. According to the most recent Pew Research Centre survey results, women and Democrats are more likely than men and Republicans to think that this is a problem.

According to the poll, 62 percent of women working in male-dominated workplaces and 46 percent of women working in female-dominated situations said that sexual harassment is a problem in their respective industries. According to one study, a woman who works in a male-dominated environment is almost twice as likely to face gender harassment as a woman who does.

However, the true scope of the issue is unclear because there are no reliable statistics on the frequency of sexual harassment. The number of sexual harassment complaints reported to the EEOC is the strongest hard statistics we have outside of surveys, which rely on self-reporting. However, these figures are probably just the tip of the iceberg. For a variety of reasons, including fear of retaliation, downplaying or ignoring the behaviour because it is perceived as typical or acceptable, or just wishing to move past the occurrence, many victims of harassment choose to keep silent and never register a complaint.

According to the EEOC, 87 to 94 percent of persons who encounter it choose not to make a formal complaint. According to a 2003 survey, over three-fourths of individuals who filed complaints experienced retaliation. Others choose not to come forward because the offensive behaviour they have encountered may not quite fit the legal definition of sexual harassment, despite the fact that the experience is no less damaging. In addition, sexual harassment has long been disregarded as a "women's issue" of either little significance or something that women have brought upon themselves, a view that is refuted by decades of research, from labour unions to the halls of political power, aside from the recent explosion of outrage and #MeToo storytelling.

Suggestions
The Supreme Court acknowledged that it was a violation of human rights that workplace sexual harassment wasn't adequately addressed by the law. In India, the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH) has been implemented in addition to the Vishaka Judgement and the cases that followed. The right to life and liberty (Article 21), the prohibition against discrimination (Article 14), and the ability to engage in any occupation without interference (Article 19(1)(g)) are the foundations of the Act. The implementation of the POSH Law was crucial for the advancement of women's safety and rights, and it had a significant impact on all Indian women. The POSH Law solely gives women access to the protections.

Businesses should have a policy that does not discriminate on the basis of gender in order to shield their female, male, and transgender employees from sexual harassment at work. The fundamental rights guaranteed by Articles 14, 15, and 21 of the Indian Constitution should be respected by this policy. Businesses should clearly state in their policies that they will not tolerate any form of sexual harassment, and they should give employees the tools to report instances of sexual harassment in accordance with those policies. A similar clause indicating that sexual harassment would not be tolerated may also be included by organisations in their code of conduct regulations.

While Article 14 of the Constitution provides everyone the right to equality, Article 21 of the Constitution assures everyone the right to a reasonable level of living. The organisation must actively work towards gender justice at all levels and promote an environment that is inclusive of people with all gender identities. A zero-tolerance stance should be stated in the organization's policy for maliciously made allegations of sexual harassment.

Conclusion
It is undeniable that the POSH Act, which has been in effect for more than half a decade, protects many working women in India from being sexually harassed at their places of employment. It not only supports and inspires female workers, but it also significantly lowers the frequency of such instances in India. This law has given women more authority and given them a platform to express their concerns. The goal should be to entirely eliminate such incidents in the future and create a safe zone in the workplace.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Sexual Harassment

What Is Sexual Harassment?

The Vishaka Guidelines called for the need to define sexual harassment. The guidelines did this, taking a definition verbatim from the General Recommendation 19 to the CEDAW Convention. 'Sexual Harassment' includes such unwelcome sexually-determined behaviour (whether direct or indirect) as:

• Physical contact and advances
• A demand or request for sexual favours
• Sexually-coloured remarks
• Showing pornography
• Any other unwelcome physical, verbal or nonverbal conduct of sexual nature.
• Any sexual acts carried out that are directly related to the victim's employment or work
• Conduct that can be humiliating for the woman
• Any sexual conduct that affects the health and safety of a woman.

The creation of a hostile working environment and unconsentual advances or requests of a sexual nature both amount to sexual harassment.

With the advent of Section 2(n) of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, India finally had an explanation for what constituted sexual harassment. You can see in detail what the Act refers to when it comes to sexual harassment. Only women are protected from sexual harassment at the workplace. Men in India cannot file a case of sexual harassment at the workplace against another male or female employee. Any working woman is protected from being subjected to sexual harassment at the workplace if she falls under certain categories.

Does sexual harassment have to involve sex?

• No. Harassment need not involve any physical contact at all; verbal abuse alone sometimes suffices. Sexual harassment includes behavior that is sexual in nature but does not involve actual physical contact. Sexual solicitations, frequent requests for dates, vulgar remarks, pornographic images, and sexual jokes are all examples of behavior that is "sexual in nature" and therefore qualify as sexual harassment.
• Of course, harassment can also include physical contact—and conduct that includes unwanted sexual touching, sexual assault, or rape is not only illegal sexual harassment but is also a crime.

Is it conceivable for someone who shares my sex to harass me sexually?

• Yes. Both men and women have the right to sexually harass other people. If the victim had been a different sex, would the behavior have taken place? Is the main question the law poses.

Where can sexual harassment occur?

• Sexual harassment can occur in the workplace or learning environment, like a school or university. It can happen in many different scenarios, including after-hours conversations, exchanges in the hallways, and non-office settings of employees or peers.

Can an aggrieved file a court case of sexual harassment in the workplace?

• Yes, a court case suit can be filed for damages under laws. The basis for filing the case would be mental anguish, physical harassment, loss of income, and employment caused by sexual harassment.

Under what circumstances can complaints be filed?

• Complaints may be filed under the following circumstances:
• Cases involving individuals from the same organization
• Cases that concern third-party harassment, which implies harassment from an outsider.

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Written By: Areeba Ahad