New Delhi, October 24: Nearly 20 days after the Indian MeToo movement bared loopholes in the law related to sexual harassment at workplace, the government on Wednesday constituted a group of ministers to strengthen mechanisms to deal with the challenge.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh will head the GOM which will also comprise Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Road and Surface Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari.
The government had been mulling institutional mechanisms to deal with the issues arising from the MeToo campaign that recently felled junior minister for external affairs MJ Akbar after 36 women accused him publicly of sexual misconduct.
Charges have been levelled against senior leaders from a range of professional spheres, including films, music industry, start-up comedy fields and media and advertising.
WCD Minister Maneka Gandhi had earlier acknowledged that if accusations were being levelled by women they ought to be believed and gaps in the existing law addressed.
The Prevention of Sexual Harassment at Workplace Act 2013 mandates that a complaint of sexual harassment has to be made within three to six months of its occurrence. The MeToo movement has now shown that the women can level charges against their perpetrators even decades after the alleged assault or harassment.
A government statement said the GOM will “examine the existing legal and institutional frameworks for dealing with matters of sexual harassment of women at the workplace and recommend action required for effective implementation of the existing provisions, as well as for strengthening the existing legal and institutional frameworks for addressing issues related to sexual harassment at workplace.”
The press statement on the issue said the GOM had been constituted in view of the felt need for broader consultation on this issue, from the point of view of developing appropriate recommendations and laying down a comprehensive plan of action and for ensuring its time bound implementation.
