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If a woman was in a relationship with a man but isn’t anymore, she can file a complaint against him if he has harassed her sexually at her workplace. Also, a woman teacher/professor can file a case of sexual harassment against a student.
The law has provided a detailed mechanism for filing complaints related to sexual harassment at the workplace. If you have been sexually harassed at the workplace, follow the steps given below to file a complaint for sexual harassment against your harasser.
In Writing1
- Draft a complaint
- Make six copies of the complaint
- Submit any supporting documents with the complaint
- Submit the names and addresses of any witnesses who are supporting your complaint
- Submit your complaint to the Internal Committee* within three months2 of the sexual harassment.
If you cannot write the complaint on your own, the Committee can help you. A complaint can be filed by someone else on your behalf, such as:33
- Your relative or friend
- Your co-worker
- An officer of the National Commission for Women or State Women’s Commission
- Any person who has knowledge of the incident, with the written consent of the victim
If you do not want to file a formal complaint they can try to work out the situation with the other person. This is called “conciliation”4
*If your workplace does not have an Internal Committee, you can go to the Local Committee that is closest to you5.
Online
You can also complain on the website of the Ministry of Women and Child Development through the SHe-Box.
- Section 7(1), Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Rules, 2013; Section 9, Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.[↩]
- Section 9(1), Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.[↩]
- Section 6, Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Rules, 2013.[↩]
- Section 10, Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.[↩]
- Section 6(1), Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.[↩]
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What is Sexual Harassment?
Pragati Singh
December 23, 2023
Sir somebody is harrasing me by my friend nudel pictures . I request you to plssss review this
Alka Manral
April 18, 2024
You can lodge your complaint online with the National Commission for Women by:
1. You need to fill up this complaint form with details of complainant or victim such as name, address, contact numbers, date of birth and respondent details etc.
2. You need to write your complaint in the given space to submit it online.
3. https://ncwapps.nic.in/onlinecomplaintsv2/
If you are facing online Sexual Harassment, then there are several measures you can take on: Firstly, you can visit your local police station and inform them about the abuse you have faced online by filing an FIR, make sure that this FIR is detailed and all information along with screen shots of the online conversation has been provided to the police. Apart from that you can also visit your state’s Cyber Cell or ask the police station whether they can forward the FIR to the Cyber Cell directly (often some police stations themselves have the facility of Cyber Cell). A complaint can also be directly filed to the Cyber Cell of your state through their respective online portal, for instance the link for the Delhi Cyber Cell portal is : https://cyber.delhipolice.gov.in/.
Secondly, the Home Affairs Ministry’s Online Crime Reporting Portal is another way for you to file a complaint. You can be sent to the website of a particular State Government in order to file a complaint. Click “Report a Cyber Crime” after filing a complaint under the “Services for Citizen” section. Here, you may provide any supporting documentation, including screenshots, along with details about the victim, the offender, and the occurrence. In addition to tracking your complaint, you have the option to submit anonymously or with identity. The link for the portal is as follows: https://digitalpolice.gov.in/.
Lastly, Alternatively, you can use the Cyber Crime Reporting Portal to immediately register a report. Anonymous complaints are also welcome. By using the options “Report Cyber Crime Related to Women/Child” or “Report Other Cyber Crime,” you can file a complaint against a variety of cybercrimes. To monitor your complaint, you must log in, establish an account, and choose “Report and Track.”. The link to the portal is as follows: https://cybercrime.gov.in/.
Moreover, it is for your information that the crime of Online Sexual Harassment is punishable under Section 354A of IPC which addresses the offense of sharing pornographic or sexually explicit material without a woman’s consent, which is considered sexual harassment through social media. This offense is punishable under the IPC, and the offender may face imprisonment for up to 3 years, a fine, or both. Section 67A of the IT Act makes it a criminal offense to publish or transmit sexually explicit material online. The punishment for this crime includes imprisonment of up to 5 years and a fine that may extend to ten lakh rupees