In 1992, a woman was gang raped by four men in a village outside Jaipur. The woman was rallying against child marriage.
The men were influential and coloured the decision of the sessions court in their favour.
Women from the village and activists took up the case and moved the Supreme Court. The women christened themselves ‘Vishaka’.
After five years of relentless struggle, the Supreme Court passed a landmark judgement to protect women against sexual abuse at workplace. The judgement was called the ‘Vishaka Guidelines’.
If you feel that your co-worker being over-friendly or being a little too familiar for your comfort, what should you do? Raise an alarm when you feel uncomfortable or intimidated. This is what the Vishaka Guidelines say you should do:
1) Save and keep a record of every email.
2) Record phone calls.
3) If the harassment is verbal, keep a diary and record it.
4) Report the incident to a confidant. Don’t keep it to yourself.
5) If the sexual harassment committee at your workplace favours the creep, rise above it and take the matter to the courts.
Don’t lie low, speak up, the system has your back.
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