Implementation of 'Prevention of Sexual Harassment at Workplace' law in dismal state in Delhi: Swati Maliwal

Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal on Monday criticised the Delhi government over the implementation of 'Prevention of Sexual Harassment at Workplace' law in the national capital and issued certain recommendations on the issue.

"The status of implementation of the Prevention of Sexual Harassment at Workplace Law is dismal in the Capital. We are giving recommendations on this issue to the Delhi Government," the DCW chief said in a tweet.

She said that the Local Complaints Committees (LCC), which are presently non-existent, need to be strengthened urgently.

Maliwal asked the Delhi government to urgently reconstitute the committees to include the required number of members as per the Act.

"Further, only members of repute should be allowed to be part of LCC in each district and the chairperson must be a woman belonging to the field of social work and committed to the cause of women. The LCC should not consist only of Government employees and instead must include external members also," the recommendation read.

It further said that each committee should be allocated proper and dedicated office space along with as many numbers of staff as it may require.

"Adequate budget must be allocated by the state government for the proper functioning of the LCC. They should function as independent entities and the chairperson and members should be provided proper fee and allowances by the government," it said.

The Commission also recommended that an efficient complaint receiving mechanism must be set up online as well as offline to increase accessibility of people all over Delhi to register complaints pertaining to sexual harassment at the workplace.