In today’s fast-paced world, women have been multi-tasking and playing an important role in shaping the progress of nation. However, in this journey, they often become sufferers of abuse, violence, sexual harassment etc. Considering the fact that women have to face these issues in day-to day life, MES Pillai College of Architecture and Pillai College of Arts, Commerce and Science along with Women Development Cell conducted an informatory session on rights of women with respect to sexual harassment at workplace and domestic violence for non-teaching female staff of the campus. The target audience was majorly the house-keeping female staff as they are often the ones who are hesitant to raise their voice against such incidences.
The guest speaker was Dr. Karuna Akshay Malviya who is a well-known lawyer and has worked intensively on women’s rights. She very well explained everyone about the actions that come under domestic violence and sexual harassment. The most important point highlighted by her which most people are unaware was that domestic violence and sexual harassment need not always be a physical act but also includes psychological abuse. The entire process right from lodging a complain to the proceeding methods was elaborated by Dr. Karuna. She also mentioned the importance of lodging a complain under F.I.R. in police station rather than under non-cognizable offence and informed about zero F.I.R. for cases wherein the police station doesn’t come under the jurisdiction where the offence has been conducted. The house-keeping female staff also shared their experiences, asked queries and got their doubts resolved. Overall, the session was very informative and insightful for all the attendees. Laws are made for the public and its very necessary that the public is aware of their rights and duties. This lecture was an apt session for making women aware of their constitutional rights if they face any domestic violence or sexual harassment at their workplaces.
