The Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act 2013, or the PoSH Act, which came into existence in 2013 has created year-round compliance requirements for employers. Unlike other compliances in India, prevention of sexual harassment at the workplace strikes the very core of workplace culture. However, given the nature of the topic, mere compliance falls short of the purpose of the law. The PoSH Act can only create the intended change if implementation is done with consideration of certain factors. Socio-cultural factors are one such factor. For instance, tier I and tier II cities differ vastly in terms of their socio-cultural landscape.
Taking these variable socio-cultural factors into consideration is crucial to the implementation of the PoSH act. Therefore, it is important for PoSH implementation to be designed to suit their specific needs. in the context of training, conversations about sexual harassment, if not tailored- can intimidate audiences and create a disconnect with the topic. Hence, adjusting conversations to the lived experiences of diverse audiences is essential to creating impact.
Tailoring conversations and context in training in tier II cities
Sexual harassment as a concept is very broad It covers behaviors such as rape, molestation, and inappropriate touching as well as sexist comments, body shaming, staring inappropriately, and comments about physical appearance.
In a study of tier I and II cities in India, a sizeable number of participants who stated that they had not faced sexual harassment answered yes to questions such as whether they had someone make sexual comments or jokes about them, were shown sexual images, or were touched inappropriately. Fewer participants reported facing sexism or asking for sexual favours as sexual harassment. Generally, participants are capable of quickly identifying explicit behaviour as sexual harassment but may struggle to identify more subtle forms of sexual harassment. In addition, the most common forms of sexual harassment may differ between various locations- based on socio-cultural factors as well as the nature of work.
There are various gaps in recognising certain behaviour as sexual harassment, which greatly inhibits reporting of sexual harassment as well. However, when training is developed with an awareness of the gaps of the audience in understanding sexual harassment, these misconceptions can be effectively dealt with- creating space for increased reporting of behaviours.
Understanding the working environment
Sexual harassment at the workplace can differ between who the specific participants interact with and what spaces they work from. A conversation geared towards white-collar workers in a tier II city will not be effective for blue-collar workers who work in a factory or employees who interact with clients and partners frequently.
Sexual harassment statistics also vary based on industries. A 2022 study in India revealed that banking, financial services and insurance, Information technology, and IT-enabled services accounted for 69.5 percent of all sexual harassment complaints filed in India in FY22. Globally, the restaurant industry has also seen a high rate of sexual harassment.
When discussing sexual harassment, the context of the industry becomes essential to ensure the discussion of the “workplace” as well as the pervasiveness of sexual harassment is also covered effectively.