No complaints = safe organisation
While that is possible, it also raises the question: Do zero complaints of sexual harassment mean zero incidents of sexual harassment?
Or
Are there factors other than the absence of sexual harassment that can result in not receiving complaints?
Complaints of workplace sexual harassment filed in India
A new study by Ashoka University’s Centre for Economic Data & Analysis analysed trends regarding reporting workplace sexual harassment in India from the inception of the Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2013 or the PoSH Act 2013 in 300 companies listed on the National Stock Exchange.
The study noted that the number of sexual harassment complaints had increased over the ten years, ranging from 161 complaints in 2013-2014 to 1,160 complaints in 2022-2023.
Even with this increase in the complaints in 2022-23, the study found that the number of reported cases in 2022-2023 was concentrated in 81 companies. This means 219 out of the 300 surveyed had reported zero complaints.
This indicates that in 2022-2023, 100% of complaints were filed at only 27% of the companies.
Going back to the initial question:
Does this mean that the 219 companies that have zero complaints of sexual harassment have achieved a workplace with zero instances of sexual harassment at the workplace?
OR
Does this indicate that there might be other factors negatively impacting the reporting of sexual harassment by employees facing sexual harassment?
Let’s explore some possibilities
Reasons for non-reporting of incidents of sexual harassment
The ILO has clarified that the lack of complaints filed of sexual harassment in no way implies that there have been no incidents of sexual harassment.
Some causes of complainants not reporting instances of sexual harassment can be the lack of awareness, the negative culture surrounding sexual harassment and the risk of retaliation in the workplace.
Lack of awareness
Lack of awareness can severely impact complaints of sexual harassment being filed with the internal committee. Many employees may be unaware of whom to reach out to when they face an incident of sexual harassment. This results in employees choosing to ignore the sexual harassment or reaching out to persons other than the Internal Committee. Parties other than the internal committee may not be effectively trained to handle sensitive matters and hence, complainants may receive an improper resolution.
Further, this awareness deficit is not limited to reporting structures. Complainants may not even recognise behaviours as sexual harassment. Studies have found that sexual harassment is normalised as early as in children who are still in school. This early normalisation can strongly hamper one’s ability to recognise behaviour such as staring, inappropriate jokes or comments about appearance and personal life as sexual harassment at the workplace.
The culture surrounding sexual harassment
Shame, denial, and fear are common emotions that survivors of sexual harassment face. Survivors of sexual harassment may feel like it was their fault, and try to deny or minimise what had occurred which can lead to feelings of shame.
Fear of being blamed for the instance of sexual harassment is also a concern for complainants. Questions like “What were you doing out so late?”, “What were you wearing?” or “Why didn’t you say anything earlier?” are commonly pointed at complainants, which can make them feel like they caused the harassment.
These complex emotions may further impact a complainant’s ability to come forward and speak about uncomfortable behaviour.
Risk of retaliation in the workplace
The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reported retaliation in 55.8% of all complaints of workplace discrimination.
Workplaces are also rife with power dynamics. Filing a complaint of workplace sexual harassment against a person in a position of power can be stressful and even create a direct threat to the complainant’s position in the organisation.
Retaliation is not just the complainant being terminated for filing a complaint of sexual harassment. It may be lower performance ratings, transfer, or instances that are less direct in nature, like spreading rumours, discussing their personal life at work and creating a hostile work environment for the complainant.
If studies say that no complaints are not a clean chit, what can companies do?
Read more on this in Part 2: Creating a culture of reporting sexual harassment