SC’s New Vision for Women’s Safety: SHe-Box to Offer Hassle-Free Reporting of Sexual Harassment

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): The Supreme Court has urged all states and Union Territories to consider establishing the SHe-Box (Sexual Harassment Electronic Box) to assist women in filing complaints regarding sexual harassment at workplaces. The court has also directed designated district officers across India to upload information on government actions related to the implementation of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013, onto the SHe-Box. This initiative launched by the Centre aims to make it easier for women to register complaints.

The Supreme Court emphasized that district officers should upload details about the formation of internal complaints committees by employers and local committees by districts on the SHe-Box. The court suggested that each state may establish its own SHe-Box for the registration of complaints either through internal workplace committees or local district committees to make the process more accessible for women.

If such a SHe-Box has already been set up by any state or Union Territory it must be activated and complaints received should be directed to the relevant internal complaints committee or local committee. The court highlighted that these measures are intended to facilitate the process of filing complaints for women who have been harassed.

In a case related to Goa (Aureliano Fernandes v. State of Goa and others) the Supreme Court directed all states and Union Territories to ensure that internal complaints committees are established or reconstituted for government departments agencies and public sector units by January 31. The court also instructed these authorities to submit affidavits on the implementation of these directives by the first week of February.

Furthermore, the court directed legal services institutions at various levels—central, state, district, and taluka—to assist women in filing complaints under the Act. Chief secretaries of all states and Union Territories have been instructed to notify district officers to ensure compliance with the Act.

The Supreme Court also directed that each district officer must form a "local committee" to receive complaints of sexual harassment as per the provisions of Section 6 of the Act. These officers are required to designate nodal officers at the block taluka and tehsil levels in rural and tribal areas and at the ward or municipality level in urban areas to receive complaints and forward them to the local committees within seven days.

Additionally, district officers are tasked with conducting surveys to identify public and private organizations that have already set up internal complaints committees. They must also take steps to ensure all employers establish such committees by sending advisories about the penalties outlined in Section 26 of the Act for failing to do so. The Supreme Court reiterated that constituting internal complaints committees is a statutory duty for employers.