In 2013, India enacted the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, also known as the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) Act [“POSH Act”], following the judgement of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the Nirbhaya case, 2012. POSH Act obligates companies to provide a secure working environment for female employees and provides a proper redressal mechanism for women subjected to sexual harassment. It mandates the formation of an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) in workplaces with ten or more employees to address complaints of sexual harassment and outlines a comprehensive mechanism for reporting, inquiry, and redressal, emphasising confidentiality, protection from retaliation, and support for the complainant.

The POSH Act was enacted with the aim of the speedy redressal of crimes of a sexual nature against women at their workplaces. However, Tier II and Tier III cities continue to be low on awareness of the law and its compliance. In January 2024–December 2024, the National Commission for Women (NCW) received 215 complaints of sexual harassment of women at the workplace.

In spite of having such laws on sexual harassment in force, the recent incident at RG Kar Medical College took place, and other instances of sexual harassment continue to increase. The laws related to sexual harassment do not adequately address the risks faced by professionals in the workplace. So, it raises an alarm and the need to have enhanced protection for all professionals in the workplace.

As per provisions of the Companies (Accounts) Amendment Rules, 2018, the board of a company has to mandatorily disclose in its report that it has complied with provisions relating to the constitution of the Internal Complaints Committee under the POSH Act, increasing the Directors’ burden. Further, organizations must submit an annual report on their compliance with the POSH Act, that is, information on the number of complaints received, resolved, and pending, as well as details about awareness programs conducted during the year. The said report is submitted to the District Officer within the specified timeframe.

One major difficulty that still exists is that both companies/ employees are not fully aware of the POSH Act. There are certain drawbacks in the POSH Act that place a significant burden on employers to constitute and manage the ICC, which may not always be feasible for smaller organizations or those lacking resources and lack of training among ICC members, which in turn can lead to the mishandling of cases. The requirement for conciliation before an inquiry should be made an easy process for victims so that they do not feel pressurized. Stricter penalties for non-compliance of the POSH Act by employers will also help in enhancing compliance. The POSH Act could be made applicable to both male and female employees. The presence of a centralized authority to oversee the implementation of the POSH Act will provide a huge boost to its implementation.

The POSH Act must be stringently enforced by all companies, organizations in India when dealing with crimes, ensuring that the consequences are severe and swift. Employers need to implement CCTV surveillance and engage women security personnel, especially at night, to ensure a secure workplace.

The employers must adopt mechanisms such as regular sensitization Programmes on the POSH Act at workplaces or conduct routine workshops to educate employees at intervals about the importance of the POSH Act, which was designed to prevent such unfortunate events. If women are not able to go to work and working conditions are not safe, we are denying them equality. Workers may be reluctant to report harassment because they are ignorant of the channels for doing so, worry that they will face some revenge, or have doubts about the efficiency of the ICC.

The current work environment requires the adoption and enforcement of a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual harassment against women in the workplace. It is evident that the prevalent POSH Act has not taken into account that many females are employed in the informal sector, which is outside the protective cover of this POSH Act. This includes the women employed in rural areas, small enterprises, unorganized sectors, flexible workplaces, self-employed, and those working in home-based industries. In 2023, while hearing a case, the Supreme Court of India mentioned that there were serious lapses in the enforcement of the POSH Act, even after a decade of the law being implemented. The Supreme Court observed further that no matter how valuable the enactment of the law might be, it would only succeed in providing the dignity and respect that women deserve at the workplace if all State and non-state actors were to enforce it proactively.

The Government of India is required to take urgent steps to raise awareness and ensure the implementation of the POSH Act. The steps must include creating and monitoring effective operation of the Internal Complaints Committees and Local Committees, carrying out inspections and sanctioning employers who fail to comply with the orders, ensuring proper hearing and redressal for victims, ensuring a transparent complaint mechanism and adequate compensation for the victims, and publishing data on an annual basis on the number of sexual harassment cases filed and resolved by the committees. POSH Act has to be made more inclusive and gender neutral. There is a need to establish a network of professionals to provide counselling and legal support to those who have faced harassment and violence.