Skip to main content

SHE-box Portal : An initiative of Empowering Women

Image
By Shipra Trivedi
"Woman must not accept; she must challenge. She must not be awed by that which has been built up around her; she must reverence that woman in her which struggles for expression. " 

The Women and Child Development ministry today launched an online platform to enable women employees of the central government to file complaints related to sexual harassment at the workplace. Union minister Maneka Gandhi said that first this platform will cater the needs of central government’s women employees and based on its impact and progress, it will be further made widen to cover private sector employees as well.

What is SHE-box?

'SHe-box' (sexual harassment electronic box) is an online complaint management system hosted on the website of the Women and Child Development Ministry. Once a complaint is submitted to the 'SHe-Box', it will be directly sent to the internal complaints committee (ICC) of the ministry/department/PSU/autonomous body etc concerned, to take action on the matter. The portal is also supposed to speed up the process of inquiry and provide a speedier remedy to the women employees.

The expectations from SHE-Box
  • This portal is assumed to ensure the proper implementation of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013.
  • It will also provide a list of follow-up details so that the employee can see the exact status of the complaint.
  • As per the department’s report, the idea of this portal is to remedy the cases before they reach the level where legal action may be warranted.
  • It is also suggested to have a section in the portal so that complainants can "vent" their grievances in detail.
  • This portal is expected to prove a boon for women employees who work in such organization where there is no committee made for taking action on their complaints.
  • This will also make women employees feel more vocal and bold in terms of reporting sexual harassment cases happening around them.
  • The portal will also make women aware about the nature of harassment and definition of what constitutes a case of sexual harassment.
  • Union minister Maneka Gandhi instructed officials to make the portal as "interactive" as possible.
How to file a complaint through SHe-Box?
  • One should have a valid email id and mobile number for filing a complaint. Then, open SHe-Box portal.
  • On the first page of portal comes “Register Your Complaint “option. Clicking on that opens a new page for registering the complaint.
  • Few things are required there. For example; a mobile number, Aadhar number, Ministry/department where one works and against whom one wants to put up the complaint.
  • One can name more than one person a single complaint as the accused box accepts comma separated names.
  • As of now only government's women employees can fill a case there. 
My take

Sexual harassment is widespread. Up to half of working women report experiencing sexual harassment at some point in their careers. Surprisingly, it's widespread occurrence and serious consequences, formal reporting of workplace harassment is very rare. There are myriad of reasons why women employees don’t come forward (much) and report such crime at work places. Victim blaming, further harassment and career fear are on top of the list. Another sorry factor is women often do not know what type of acts qualify as sexual harassment and fail to report them. The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 that came into effect recently depicts the rules for dealing with cases of sexual harassment at the workplace. Sadly many of the working women don’t know what this law is and how this can help them.

The Union government has 30.87 lakh employees and on an average, women constitute 12 % of the total force. With this move, The Women and Child Development ministry is trying to give an easy access to reporting system to government women employees, without any need to take help from mediators. I am taking this as a silver lining in the dark clouds of harassment at offices. I am also hoping that this initiative will be proved beneficent for central government’s women employees and will be then get implemented for the private sector as well. I so welcome this move. Empowering women, empowers the nation!!

Listen This Post Stop Listening Post
Share this PostFacebook shareTwitter sharePin ThisShare on TumblrShare on Google PlusEmail This
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Worshiping Krishna.. वसुदॆव सुतं दॆवं कंस चाणूर मर्दनम्..

By Shipra Trivedi
Shri Krishna Ashtakam is a worshiping prayer devoted to Lord  Krishna praising his powers and glory. Ashtakam means a prayer which contains eight hymns(slokas). Each hymn or verse is composed of four phrases, each describing one quality or great acts of Sri Krishna. And, each sloka is composed in two lines. It is believed that krishnashtakam lyrics possess great powers. Here is the English translation of this holy verse : वसुदॆव सुतं दॆवं कंस चाणूर मर्दनम् । दॆवकी परमानन्दं कृष्णं वन्दॆ जगद्गुरुम् ॥1॥ Vasudeva Sutam Devam Kansa Chanura Mardanam... Devaki Paramanandam Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum.. I pay my tribute to the teacher of this world Krishna, who is the son of Vasudev, who killed Kansa and Chanura and who is the source of great joy to Devaki. अतसी पुष्प सङ्काशं हार नूपुर शॊभितम् ।रत्न कङ्कण कॆयूरं कृष्णं वन्दॆ जगद्गुरुम् ॥ |2| Atasi Pushpa Sankasham Hara Nupura Shobhitam..Ratna Kankana Keyuram Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum... I salute to the teacher of this world Krishna,
37 comments
Read more

#TheWomanThatIAm #RRxMM I am not the woman who..

By Shipra Trivedi
I am not the mother who.. I am not the mother who stayed longer with her newborn, I resumed office when he was barely 2 months old. I am not the mother who witnessed each of my kid's milestones, I got to know them when being told. I am not the mother who could tell breastfeeding stories, my child is a formula-fed gold. I am not the mother who keeps the house spotless, I let my son scatter toys and go overbold. I am not the mother who manages a detailed list for parenting chores, I often keep my to-dos on hold. I am not the mother whom people admire, I hear people calling me selfish and cold. ALSO I am a doting mother who tries to juggle between family and work every other minute.  I am a mother who watches silly cartoons with my boy.  I am a mother who repeatedly tells the same story every night.  I am a mother who cooks my son's favorite food every week.  And I am also a mother who is the closest person in my son's life! I am not the wife wh
75 comments
Read more

My 'Invisible' Accomplishments #DecadeHop #RRxMM

By Shipra Trivedi
As we entered 2020, through this post I am trying to contemplate the coolest, most daring, and most significant feats of my life during the last decade. Now the more I regress my memory, the more I feel there are two types of achievements or accomplishments that I can ponder upon; Visible and Invisible. Visible ones are those that I can count on my finger like a parrot and others can nod also. I got specs on, married to a not-so-romantic man, produced a baby, started writing and added good 17 kgs in my body volume (I was 50 in 2011). However, there are many invisible accomplishments too that either I know silently or very few can assert. From 2011 to 2019, Who am I now From a coy soul to now an outspoken woman, the trek was not easy. I achieved it. From being a no-makeup girl to now a lipstick swatches observer, the transition was tough. But it happened. And from being a sweet hater to now a sweet lover, the change was mysterious yet occurred. And now I can die for Gulab Jamuns.
76 comments
Read more