MeToo: Sexual harassment portal linked to central, state ministries for quick disposal of cases

SHe-Box, the online portal to report complaints of sexual harassment at workplace, has been linked to all the Central ministries, departments and 653 districts across all states and Union Territories, the Women and Child Development (WCD) ministry said on Thursday.

"This is a proactive step taken by the Ministry in the wake of the worldwide campaign MeToo, where women have related their experiences of facing sexual harassment and abuse at workplace," Union WCD Minister Maneka Gandhi said.

For prompt disposal of complaints on SHe-Box, each case will go directly to the central/state authority concerned having jurisdiction to take action in the matter.

"Cases on SHe-Box can be monitored by complainants and Ministry WCD, reducing the time taken in case disposal," it said in a statement.

Till November 20, 321 complaints have been registered with 'SHe-Box' out of which 120 are related to Central ministries and departments, 58 are from state governments and 143 from private companies.

SHe-Box, which was launched last year, offers making online complaints of sexual harassment at workplace to all women employees in the country, including government and private employees.

Those who have already filed a written complaint with the Internal Complaint Committee (ICC) or Local Complaint Committee (LCC) constituted under the Sexual Harassment Act are also eligible to file their complaint through this portal.

The Ministry has also published a handbook and training module on the SH Act to provide information about the provisions of the Act in an easy-to-use manner.

--IANS

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