Women may have come out of their cocoon where careers are concerned, and forward their step ahead in the corporate world.
In spite of that workplaces remain unsafe for them. Roughly about 115 complaints from women had recorded by the National Commission for Women (NCW) on sexual harassment at the workplace every year between January 2010 and December 2013. The only silver lining is that workplaces in south India recorded very few complaints.
For the duration of the four years, 457 complaints were registered before the commission from across states. “There are many who directly approach the police while most of them do not raise their voices,” an official said, adding most complaints come from mid-level employees.
Delhi, India’s capital, has become infamous for ever-increasing incidents of rape, has observed 99 complaints lodged by women in various organizations.
Delhi is second only to Uttar Pradesh, which saw 118 complaints booked. South India fares well with just 19 such cases, with Karnataka acquiring the topmost position in the table recording nine cases, followed by Andhra Pradesh (5), Tamil Nadu (3) and Kerala (2). These states are recorded with lower number of cases then most other states in the country.
Sociologist Sudha Sitaram, be of the opinion that the problem is not restricted to workplaces alone and that such behaviour reflects the kind of society we live in. According to Sulata Shenoy, a psychologist, the problem will refuse to go away so long as men view woman as objects of desire.
States like Rajasthan (42 complaints), Madhya Pradesh (38), Haryana (23) and Maharashtra (22) have recorded more complaints individually than all the four southern states put together.
If the number of complaints year-on-year is calculated, most were lodged in 2013, at 150. In 2010, the commission received 104 complaints, 100 in 2011 and 103 in 2012.