Focus Merit

A legal framework to prevent sexual harassment at the workplace

The Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Home Minister Amit Shah, which was constituted to strengthen the legal framework to prevent sexual harassment at the workplace, has finalised its recommendations. The recommendations, includes addition of new provisions to the Indian Penal Code, which will be put up for comments from the public.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Human Resource and Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal and Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani are among the other members of GoM. The GoM was constituted first in October 2018 in the aftermath of the #MeToo movement when many women shared their ordeal on social media.

The Women and Child Development Ministry had steered the Sexual Harassment of Women and Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act in 2013, which was applicable to government offices, the private sector, NGOs and the unorganised sector.