Counsel Quest

  Transgenders and Sexual Harassment at Work Transgender people are emerging from the margins to fight for an equal place in society. This new transparency is improving the lives of a long misunderstood minority and beginning to yield new policies, as trans activists and their supporters push for changes in schools, hospitals, workplaces, prisons, and the military. Acceptance and awareness of transgender issues is on the rise among both the general population and the business world. Still, a number of troubling transgender issues in the workplace remain. Transgender workers face scattershot legal protections, numerous obstacles in workplace cultures, and high levels of harassment, including sexual harassment. The key to trans friendly workplaces lies in better understanding their unique challenges, and adjusting practices and policies to their varied needs. Sexual harassment of transgenders at workplace is a serious issue which needs to be addressed. While som...

Role of External Members in POSH Act An external member mandated under the POSH Act is someone who does not belong to the organization, has to be empanelled in the ICC (Internal complaints Committee). The member must be from an NGO or a social organisation that is committed to the cause of women and someone who has experience in dealing with cases related to sexual harassment. The external member can be a person with a legal background having knowledge and expertise in the matters of sexual harassment of women. The external member is an essential part of any Internal Complaints Committee as they provide an unbiased, neutral perspective. They are not involved or aware of any Internal company politics and employee relationships, and thus base their opinions and findings on the presented facts and circumstances. Being an external member that is generally unknown to the workforce gives complainants and witnesses a sense of ease when talking about harassment faced at the workpl...

  Male Victims of Sexual Harassment at Workplace What Is Sexual Harassment? Workplace sexual harassment is defined by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) as “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that explicitly or implicitly affect an individual’s employment, unreasonable interferes with an individual’s work performance; or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.” . Examples of sexual harassment might be as straightforward as unwelcome touching, being pressured to go on romantic dates, or being called an offensive sexual nickname.  It can also include less obvious behaviour, like making derogatory or offensive remarks about others, posting sexually explicit pictures or regular conversation of a sexual nature. Is sexual harassment at workplace limited to women only? For most people, when they think of sexual harassment in the workplace, their mind ...