Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace: A Socio-Psychological Trauma

Bhagyashree Chauhan 
Symbiosis Law University, Hyderabad, India

Volume III, Issue IV, 2020

“I felt violated and scared. Even though I said I was going to report this, I felt I could not because I thought I could easily lose my job if I told”

The research article discusses about sexual harassment of women at workplace in India with related laws passed by the Indian government most importantly Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013 . The article further deals with breakdown of various Indian laws supporting the act and their analysis. Sexual harassment in the workplace may be on the decline, but it is still an ongoing risk to the safety of the employees as well as the mindset of the employer. Such activities not only give women mental and physical trauma but also socio-psychological agony for the rest of their lives. There exist multiple theories behind the attitude of a man towards women at workplace backed up by the country’s customs, traditions and societal pressure which a woman has to face throughout her life.

The article’s objective is to discuss about sexual harassment of a woman at workplace specifically highlighting the socio-psychological trauma suffered as well as the reasons behind such harassment taking place in the work environment. The research will be further backed by ancient theories, case laws and arguments. The methodology used in the article will be doctrinal research methodology with the help of secondary sources as well, i.e., essential data analysis. The secondary sources are collected from the internet, articles, journals, books and case laws in light of the subject.

Keywords: sexual harassment, women, workplace, ancient theories, socio-psychological trauma