Group of Ministers to offer #MeToo action plan

New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government has constituted a group of ministers, headed by home minister Rajnath Singh, to strengthen the legal and institutional frameworks to deal with and prevent sexual harassment at workplace. The GoM has been set up in the wake of #MeToo campaign wherein several women have publicly named high-profile people who allegedly harassed them at workplace.

The GoM will examine the existing legal and institutional frameworks for dealing with matters of sexual harassment of women at workplace and recommend, within three months, action required for their implementation.

Former editor M.J. Akbar had to resign as minister of state for external affairs following allegations of sexual harassment against him by former colleagues.

In a statement, the home ministry said the members of the GoM are road transport minister Nitin Gadkari, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman and women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi.

The GoM has been constituted in view of the felt need for broader consultation on this issue, the home ministry said in a statement.

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013,is the key legislation for preventing and protecting women against sexual harassment at workplace.

The women and child development ministry has also launched an electronic complaints box that enables women, irrespective of their work status, to raise their voice against sexual harassment at workplace. Once a complaint is submitted to the “SHe-Box”, it is directly sent to the authority concerned having jurisdiction to take action into the matter. A mechanism will be put in place to regularly monitor the action taken on the complaints, the statement said.