India recently marked the tenth anniversary of its landmark law
on sexual harassment of women in the workplace (the so called
‘POSH Act').
A decade after the passage of the POSH Act, implementation and
enforcement of the Act is still inadequate. The Supreme Court of
India recently expressed concern over what it termed a ‘sorry
state of affairs' surrounding the implementation of the Act.
It pointed to lack of procedural awareness, lack of confidence in
the process and outcome, a lack of strict adherence to the
enforcement regime and other practical challenges as the main
reasons. ‘However salutary this enactment may
be, it will never succeed in providing dignity and respect that
women deserve at the workplace unless there is strict adherence to
the enforcement regime and a proactive approach by all State and
non-State actors', the Court observed.
