SHe-Box : How an e-portal gave momentum to the POSH Act

The Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India notified the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act in the year 2013. Section 4(1) of the Act requires workplaces (of 10 or more employees) to Constitute an Internal Complaint Committee (ICC). The Committee is presided by a senior-level female employee, at least two other members well-versed with the legal and social aspects of harassment, and one external member familiar with issues relating to sexual harassment. This composition is to ensure that the traumatised employee is at ease when filing her complaint. However, the redressal mechanism has its lacunae. To begin with, many ICCs see so few complaints because the employees are not aware of its existence. In addition, they are unsure of what amounts to sexual harassment. They may not feel that a humiliating remark should be taken up by a formal committee. Further, administrative gaps may cause delays and hold ups, impacting disposal of complaints. Lastly, the composition of the ICC itself may be unnerving to some since internal members are, in all probability, co-workers at the institution. Biases developed within the institute is likely to make the investigation subjective, thus defeating the purpose of a formal committee. The hesitation to file a complaint stems from a fear of further interaction with senior members, peers, and possibly the perpetrator himself. This cumulative stress steers the complainant away from the ICC. 

An intervention, and a solution

In 2016, The Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) initiated plans to host an online platform for employees to lodge their complaints, after they were made aware of the ineffectiveness of ICCs. Maneka Gandhi, a Union Minister of the WCD Ministry stated the intention of the portal to reporters through the following statement:

 “If the internal complaints committees (on sexual harassment) are working, then we are out of the picture totally. But people, who will come to us, are those women employees who work where there are no committees or there’s one for the sake of it or composed of people who are outrightly negative.”

In 2017, the Ministry introduced an online complaint portal, called the Sexual Harassment Electronic Box (SHe-Box), which allowed aggrieved women to register their complaints online. This single-window access facility was initially accessible only by Government employees, Soon it was opened to women of all work descriptions, employed in organised and unorganised sector, private and public institutions, including central, state ministries and districts. Since the mechanism is computer-based, the complaints are much more organised, allowing for effective, speedy disposal.

A user-friendly interface

The SHe-Box can be operated by any employee with a valid e-mail ID and an internet connection. The home screen of the website displays a tab “Register your Complaint”. The portal then asks the employee whether the incident took place in a Government or a Private sector office. The next screen is an online form, where the employee fills in details of the organisation and her designation in the organisation, the details of the perpetrator and the victim’s relationship with the perpetrator, and a brief description of the incident. Once a complaint is registered via SHe-Box, the complaint is sent directly to the authority having appropriate jurisdiction to investigate the matter further. The form also asks the complainant whether she had already lodged a complaint with their organisation’s ICC. This consolidates complaints, avoiding duplicate cases and reducing administrative burden.

After filling in the information and submitting the form, the website sends a confirmation message to the employee’s email ID. The employee can then generate a password, to track the status of her complaint in real time. The website also provides a User Manual, to answer any further doubts the complainant might have.   

Does it work? 

The platform saw a grand success, within two years of its operation. On 25th July, WCD minister Smriti Irani was asked in the Rajya Sabha to share the results of the Ministry’s initiative. Irani was pleased to declare that SHe-Box had received as many as 612 complaints in the last two years. Of these complaints, 196 were lodged by Central Government employees, 103 by State Government employees and 313 by employees working with private institutes. 

This laudable initiative by the Government of India, and its resultant accomplishment, just goes to show the Government’s peaked interest in women’s safety and comfort. In October 2018, the Government had constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) for this very purpose, i.e. women empowerment at the workplace. The Group was to scrutinise the legal and institutional machinery in place for dealing with sexual harassment at the workplace. With the WCD Ministry’s recent success, it may be time to overlook traditional redressal mechanisms, and rely on SHe-Box for gender justice.