KPS Gill Case: In the evening of July 18, 1988 Mrs.

Bajaj accompanied by her husband had gone to the residence of Shri S.L. Kapur, a colleague of theirs, in response to an invitation for dinner. Reaching there at or about 9 P.M. they found 20/25 couples present including Mr. Gill, who had come without his wife, and some other senior Government officers. Shri K.P.S. Gill called out to Mrs. Bajaj and said, "Mrs. Bajaj come and sit here, I want to talk to you about something." she got up from her chair to go and sit next to him. When she was about to sit down, he suddenly pulled the cane chair on which she was going to sit close to his chair and touching his chair. she felt a little surprised. She put the chair back at its original place and about to sit down again when he repeated his action pulling the chair close to his chair. She realised that something was very wrong and without sitting down she immediately left and went back and sat in her original place. K.P.S. Gill got up from his seat made an action with the crook of his finger asking her to stand and said, "You get up. You come along with me." she strongly objected to his behaviour and told him, "Mr. Gill How dare you! You are behaving in an obnoxious manner, go away from here". Then Mr Gill rushed to her and he slapped her on the posterior in the full presence of the ladies and guests. First Information Report (FIR) a case was registered by Mrs. Bajaj in the Central Police Station. Mr. Gill being a high- ranking Police Officer the Chandigarh Police had neither arrested him in connection with the case registered by the Police on his wife's complaint nor did conducted investigation in a fair and impartial manner and police conclude the investigation on grounds that no evidence found. Mr. Bajaj lodged a complaint in the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate for the same offences later on this case was transferred to HC. After investigation and trials, SC convicted Mr. Gill in January, 1998 with fined of Rs.2.5 lacks in lieu of three months Rigorous Imprisonment under Sections. 209 and 509 of the Indian Penal Code.

Payment to aggrieved party: (a) the mental trauma, pain, suffering and emotional distress caused to the aggrieved woman; (b) the loss in the career opportunity due to the incident of sexual harassment; (c) medical expenses incurred by the victim for physical or psychiatric treatment; (d) the income and financial status of the respondent; (e) feasibility of such payment in lump sum or in instalments.

Employees Responsibilities: Ask yourself the following: - Do I consent to the behaviour? - Does the behaviour make me uncomfortable? - Does the behaviour violate my dignity as an individual? - Does it violate my right to work in dignity in a safe working environment?

Read the policy and procedures to follow should they experience or observe harassment or disrespectful behavior. Seek assistance if they have questions about the policy. Understand what constitutes harassment to ensure that their comments or actions do not inadvertently offend another co-worker. Promptly report all incidences of harassment that they are aware of, or experience, to whomever they are comfortable with. Speak up, if a reported concern is not resolved, raise it again. If possible, keep record of dates, time and location of all incidences of suspected harassment. Inform a trusted colleague and try to insure that s/he is a witness to a situation where someone is being harassed. This will be useful later if you chose to file a formal complaint.

Why Dont People Report Workplace Harassment Afraid of retaliation - think they may get into trouble, be fired, be ridiculed by team members Embarrassed Dont think that people would believe them or take them seriously Dont believe its actually happening or dismiss it as not being serious Unsure or dont know that it is harassment Dont want to get the co-worker into trouble Think they should be able to handle it on their own Think the environment allows that type of behavior (especially sensitive for new hires

Sexual harassment by third party:

Where sexual harassment occurs as a result of an act or omission by any third party or outsider, the employer and person in charge will take all steps necessary and reasonable to assist the affected person in terms of support and preventive action.

Complaint mechanism: The complaint mechanism referred to in (6) above, should be adequate to provide, where necessary, a Complaints Committee, a special councellor or other support service, including the maintenance of confidentiality. The Complaints Committee should be headed by a woman and not less than half of i~ member should be women. Further to prevent the possibility of any undue pressure or influence from senior levels, such Complaints Committee should involve a third party, either NGO or other body who is familiar with the issue of sexual harassment. The Complaints Committee must make an annual report to the Government department concerned of the complaints and action taken by them. The employers and person in charge will also report on the compliance with the aforesaid guidelines including on the reports of the Complaints Committee to the Government department.