Let’s Get Aware of Transgenders and Sexual Harassment at Workplace

 

Let’s Get Aware of Transgenders and Sexual Harassment at Workplace

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 some trans friendly workplaces exist, tragically, transgender employees still frequently experience targeted harassment and discrimination in the workplace.

This harassment and mistreatment can manifest in a number of ways—according to a survey respondents noted the following rates of mistreatment:

·       50 percent reported being sexually harassed by co-workers

·       41 percent said they’d been asked inappropriate questions about their transgender or surgical status

·       7 percent reported experiencing physical violence

·       6 percent being sexually assaulted

Now, as the name suggests, Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, is gender specific and is only for the protection of women in workplace. However, it fails to take into consideration that men and transgenders can be victims of workplace sexual harassment too. To talk of transgenders in particular, this community is a sexual minority and is more prone to such assault and harassment than men, due to their gender and more than women due to the lack of laws protecting them.

With the legal recognition of the third gender and the enactment of Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, transgenders now have the freedom to work anywhere without any discrimination under the law. Despite of this, transgenders are still continued to be subjected to sexual harassment at workplace.

The lack of gender neutrality in the POSH Act has been brought up many times. Each person is entitled to right to life and right to live with dignity, and as such statutes that punish sexual offences cannot selectively protect one person. The act of sexual harassment is a violation of a person’s human rights and well as the fundamental right to a dignified life. And as such, this issue must be included in the act.

At Counsel Quest, we work on thr belief that every personnel in any walk of life and any level in any organisation has the right to be free from sexual harassment and discrimination, irrespective of their gender.

Our mission is to create and spread awareness about the need for gender-sensitive workplaces, and promote a culture of fairness, respect and opportunity for one and all.

To know more, connect with Counsel Quest today!

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Local Complaints Committee Under The Posh Act

Image
  Local Complaints Committee Under The Posh Act We know that the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, commonly called the POSH Act, mandates every organization that has ten or more employees to formulate an Internal Committee (IC) to receive and redress complaints of sexual harassment against women at workplace. Does it mean that only employees of organizations that has at least ten employees receive the protection of the POSH Act? Should women working in the unorganized sector file a complaint with the police if they face sexual harassment at work? This is where the Local Complaints Committee comes into picture. The POSH Act is very comprehensive and has ensured that every women employee is covered. The Local Complaints Committee is formed to ensure protection against sexual harassment for women employees working in organizations that have less than 10 employees. Local Complaints Committee (LCC) is a bod...
Read more

POSH Compliance Law Firms in India

Image
  POSH Compliance Law Firm in India The Indian legal landscape changed significantly in 2013, when the  Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act  (commonly called POSH or The Act) became law. POSH was India’s first piece of legislation that  specifically  dealt with workplace sexual harassment of women. Now, Indian employers are responsible for ensuring a safe working environment by preventing, prohibiting and redressing sexual harassment. The POSH Act: Scope & Applicability The Act is unique in a number of ways. First, it recognizes that sexual harassment amounts to a fundamental violation of women’s rights, including their right to live with dignity in any profession, trade, or business. Surprisingly, the law goes further than that — it’s enforceable everywhere in India, and it only protects women. If a man is a victim of sexual harassment in the workplace, he isn’t protected by the provision...
Read more

Critical Analysis of Posh Act, 2013

Image
  Critical Analysis of Posh Act, 2013 Posh Act defines sexual harassment as unwelcome acts or behaviour (whether directly or by implication) namely, physical contact and advances, a demand or request for sexual favours, making sexually coloured remarks, showing pornography, any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature. The Act also provides the circumstances under which an act may amount to sexual harassment. The Act was undoubtedly considered to be a great step towards the protection of the working women and the first effort towards creating a safe and a decent working environment for women in the Indian society. Article 14, 15 and 21 of the Indian constitution gave a true meaning to this legislation and gave effect to the right to work with dignity and freedom. Sexual harassment is also considered as a violation of right to practice any occupation, trade or business as guaranteed under article 19 (1)(g), and this necessarily ...
Read more