Internal committees will be set up in all government offices by March 8, International Women’s Day, as per the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal Act, 2013 (POSH Act), Minister for Women and Child Development Veena George has said.
Efforts are also on to form the internal committees in IT parks, public sector institutions, and industrial units. All workplaces that employ 10 or more employees should have internal committees laid down in the law, the Minister said.
It was in January 2023 that the Women and Child Development department launched a POSH compliance portal (http://posh.wcd.kerala.gov.in) to coordinate and monitor activities as per the POSH Act to prevent sexual harassment of women at the workplace and create an environment where they can work with a feeling of safety.
Initially, internal committees existed only in 1,000 workplaces. In August 2024, the department launched a district-level campaign, following which as many as 17,113 institutions are registered on the POSH compliance portal. Internal committees have been formed in 10,533 of these 17,113 institutions. The registrations have increased in the wake of physical inspections at the workplace and awareness creation, a statement quoting the Minister said.
Such a system would help understand where all internal committees had not been set up yet. The department will also be able to monitor the functioning of all internal committees in the State and intervene when necessary, so that women are ensured of legal protection and justice, the Minister said.
Published – January 23, 2025 07:57 pm IST
