Tables turn: Men harassed
In 2011, when Ashish (name changed) landed a high-paying government
job, his parents were on cloud nine. Little did they know what the
future had in store for him: Hikes and promotions being denied because
of a 40-year-old divorcee. A married man, Ashish initially could not
understand why his boss would often invite him home for dinner, call him
to her cabin or ask how she looked?
“It was when she started abusing me in public did I realise that she was angry as I had refused her overtures. She made my life miserable after that. I was loaded with work. And when the time came for hikes and promotions, I was given a bad rating. My hard work turned to dust,” he lamented. Talking to the H R department or other authorities yielded no results. “People would laugh at me. Men being harassed at work places is unheard of. Many presume that a man would actually enjoy it. I had to quit my job when all options were closed,” he adds.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development, in order to implement the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013, which came into being in February, defined some finer details. These state that sexual harassment at a workplace may lead to termination of service of the accused, withholding of promotions and increments, and payment of reasonable compensation to the complainant. However, the Act only provides for aggrieved women, although the offense itself is gender neutral.
“The government is failing to recognise that sexual harassment is not a crime of passion, but a crime acted out to show dominance. In many cases, the aggressor may even be of the same sex,” explains Arnab Ganguly, a member of INSAAF (Indian Social Awareness and Activism Forum), an international NGO specialising in gender and social research, with branches in the United States and India. “The Act, however, does include a provision on “misuse” of the legislation, but it’s a very watered down version. The fine against people who misuse this Act is only `500 or 5 per cent of the aggressor’s salary, which doesn’t really act as a very serious deterrent to perpetrators,” informs Arnab.
The Save Indian Family Foundation along with INSAAF have tirelessly campaigned against the bill, so as to make it gender neutral. The fact that in India the definition of sexual assault incorporates men but the definition of sexual harassment refuses to consider men as victims seems preposterous, especially in the light of the research conducted by Synovate, a market research firm, across six Indian cities. The research states that in Bangalore alone, half of those who confessed to being sexually harassed at work had been harassed by women. Only 32 per cent said they were harassed by male colleagues.
“Although the new Act doesn’t provide for men as victims, most of the internal committees set up by companies to investigate sexual harassment are gender neutral. I usually sit in on many of these meetings as an external adviser and a lot of these cases have been filed by men as well. Companies now are being very open to issues faced by men at the workplace and take them very seriously,” says Kanti Joshi, an advocate who works with SASHA ( Support against Sexual Harassment), the consultancy arm of the NGO, IDEA (Integrated Developmental Education Academy) established to raise awareness and provide support services against sexual harassment.
Mohit Sharma (name changed), a senior architect who was working with a prominent design firm in the city, was fired unceremoniously because of allegations raised against him by a junior designer. “She wanted me to recommend her for a senior position when she clearly wasn’t ready. She flirted excessively and asked me to accompany her on coffee dates and when I didn’t comply she immediately complained to the HR, saying I was mistreating her and also alleged that I had made unwelcome advances towards her, when it was the other way around,” rues Mohit. His complaints simply echoed up the chain of command and were ignored in favour of the woman’s allegations, and after three months of fervent discussions back and forth, he was asked to leave the firm.
Atit Rajpara, president, Men’s Rights Association said that he gets more than 40 calls a month by men recalling horrifying incidents of sexual harassment at workplace.
Recalling a recent case, Rajpara said,” Shashi (name changed), an MNC employee was continuously harassed by his colleague, who wanted to marry him. When he stopped responding to her calls or messages, she landed at his doorstep and created a big scene.” Frustrated by this, Shashi filed a formal complaint with the HR. The woman was let off after a light warning but the harassment continued. She even blackmailed him that if he complained again, she would file a case against him for harassment. Despite repeated complaints, the woman continues to work with the company but Shashi was forced put in his papers. Rajpara added that in most cases men are mocked at when they talk about harassment. He said, “Sexual harassment should not be based on gender. It can happen to anyone, anytime. That’s why men never get justice.”
Women often misuse their rights and blame people at work places to get their way. In 2012, Shrishti Saxena used the same tactics. Being handed too much work by her boss, she decided to teach him a ‘lesson’. Instead of discussing the issue with him, she approached the HR and filed a sexual harassment complaint against him. Serious action was taken against the manager and Shrishti sighed a breath of relief.
Virag Dhulia, head of gender studies, Confidare India, a Bangalore-based research centre said that he gets more than three calls a month by men who have been harassed at work. “Gone are those days when offices were male dominated. These days a lot of women are handling top positions,” he said.
The centre has received calls on cases where women have tried to make advances towards their junior or colleague, asked them to stay back late at work, threatened higher work burden and used lewd comments or abusive language. “The worst part is that companies don’t take these complaints seriously. The attitude is very insensitive towards men,” he said. Confidare runs a helpline, 9008302822, for those who are victims of sexual harassment.
“It was when she started abusing me in public did I realise that she was angry as I had refused her overtures. She made my life miserable after that. I was loaded with work. And when the time came for hikes and promotions, I was given a bad rating. My hard work turned to dust,” he lamented. Talking to the H R department or other authorities yielded no results. “People would laugh at me. Men being harassed at work places is unheard of. Many presume that a man would actually enjoy it. I had to quit my job when all options were closed,” he adds.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development, in order to implement the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013, which came into being in February, defined some finer details. These state that sexual harassment at a workplace may lead to termination of service of the accused, withholding of promotions and increments, and payment of reasonable compensation to the complainant. However, the Act only provides for aggrieved women, although the offense itself is gender neutral.
“The government is failing to recognise that sexual harassment is not a crime of passion, but a crime acted out to show dominance. In many cases, the aggressor may even be of the same sex,” explains Arnab Ganguly, a member of INSAAF (Indian Social Awareness and Activism Forum), an international NGO specialising in gender and social research, with branches in the United States and India. “The Act, however, does include a provision on “misuse” of the legislation, but it’s a very watered down version. The fine against people who misuse this Act is only `500 or 5 per cent of the aggressor’s salary, which doesn’t really act as a very serious deterrent to perpetrators,” informs Arnab.
The Save Indian Family Foundation along with INSAAF have tirelessly campaigned against the bill, so as to make it gender neutral. The fact that in India the definition of sexual assault incorporates men but the definition of sexual harassment refuses to consider men as victims seems preposterous, especially in the light of the research conducted by Synovate, a market research firm, across six Indian cities. The research states that in Bangalore alone, half of those who confessed to being sexually harassed at work had been harassed by women. Only 32 per cent said they were harassed by male colleagues.
“Although the new Act doesn’t provide for men as victims, most of the internal committees set up by companies to investigate sexual harassment are gender neutral. I usually sit in on many of these meetings as an external adviser and a lot of these cases have been filed by men as well. Companies now are being very open to issues faced by men at the workplace and take them very seriously,” says Kanti Joshi, an advocate who works with SASHA ( Support against Sexual Harassment), the consultancy arm of the NGO, IDEA (Integrated Developmental Education Academy) established to raise awareness and provide support services against sexual harassment.
Mohit Sharma (name changed), a senior architect who was working with a prominent design firm in the city, was fired unceremoniously because of allegations raised against him by a junior designer. “She wanted me to recommend her for a senior position when she clearly wasn’t ready. She flirted excessively and asked me to accompany her on coffee dates and when I didn’t comply she immediately complained to the HR, saying I was mistreating her and also alleged that I had made unwelcome advances towards her, when it was the other way around,” rues Mohit. His complaints simply echoed up the chain of command and were ignored in favour of the woman’s allegations, and after three months of fervent discussions back and forth, he was asked to leave the firm.
Atit Rajpara, president, Men’s Rights Association said that he gets more than 40 calls a month by men recalling horrifying incidents of sexual harassment at workplace.
Recalling a recent case, Rajpara said,” Shashi (name changed), an MNC employee was continuously harassed by his colleague, who wanted to marry him. When he stopped responding to her calls or messages, she landed at his doorstep and created a big scene.” Frustrated by this, Shashi filed a formal complaint with the HR. The woman was let off after a light warning but the harassment continued. She even blackmailed him that if he complained again, she would file a case against him for harassment. Despite repeated complaints, the woman continues to work with the company but Shashi was forced put in his papers. Rajpara added that in most cases men are mocked at when they talk about harassment. He said, “Sexual harassment should not be based on gender. It can happen to anyone, anytime. That’s why men never get justice.”
Women often misuse their rights and blame people at work places to get their way. In 2012, Shrishti Saxena used the same tactics. Being handed too much work by her boss, she decided to teach him a ‘lesson’. Instead of discussing the issue with him, she approached the HR and filed a sexual harassment complaint against him. Serious action was taken against the manager and Shrishti sighed a breath of relief.
Virag Dhulia, head of gender studies, Confidare India, a Bangalore-based research centre said that he gets more than three calls a month by men who have been harassed at work. “Gone are those days when offices were male dominated. These days a lot of women are handling top positions,” he said.
The centre has received calls on cases where women have tried to make advances towards their junior or colleague, asked them to stay back late at work, threatened higher work burden and used lewd comments or abusive language. “The worst part is that companies don’t take these complaints seriously. The attitude is very insensitive towards men,” he said. Confidare runs a helpline, 9008302822, for those who are victims of sexual harassment.
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