The All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has directed technical universities and accredited institutions to take certain steps to ensure that female employees have a safe working environment.
“All employers are expected to honour the Act and maintain a safe working environment for female employees, while discharging their duties, so that, they may carry out their duty with dignity,” the Council said, referring to the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, which gives legal rights to female employees, both regular and contractual, to speak out against any type of sexual harassment at work.
According to the "Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013, the AICTE has asked universities and institutes to take the following steps to raise awareness about the issue of maintaining a safe working environment:
- Establish an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) and a Special Cell in administratively controlled institutions to deal with gender-based violence and gender sensitization programmes.
- To hang banners or posters in prominent locations throughout the buildings and campuses to raise staff understanding of what constitutes sexual harassment and how to avoid it.
- Names and contact information for members of the Internal Complaints Committee (lCC) should be posted on notice boards throughout the institutions.
- To post the Act, the Committee's Constitution, and the names, phone numbers, and addresses of the Committee's members on the institute's portal in a prominent location.
- To conduct training programmes to raise awareness of concerns linked to maintaining a safe working environment among the Institutions' workers.
“As you are aware that Government of India is committed to promote gender equality and women empowerment across every sector and prevent all forms of violence against women that negatively impact gender equality and human dignity,” said AICTE, who asked the institutions to notify them of their actions in the matter.
