New Delhi, April 24: Lack of severe punishment is considered as the most rampant cause of sexual harassment by 86 per cent respondents in the NCR region, as per as study.
The study, done by Indian Institute for Integrated Women and Child Development (ISI-WCD) and released by the Women and Child Development Ministry, was one of 18 projects the ministry had sponsored, between 2015-17, in areas like economic empowerment of women, skill development,
child trafficking, nutrition management and others.
For the survey, 5,221 responses were collected from Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida to understand the factors and possible remedies of sexual harassment against women and girls in public places.
According to the survey, 84 per cent of the responsdents think that availability of pornographic materials on mobile phone is also a cause of sexual harassment in NCR region while 83 per cent believes it is because of easy access to social media site Facebook or the internet.
"Revealing dresses of women has been seen as the reason for sexual assault by 53 per cent, 35 per cent and 37 per cent by residents of Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida respectively while informal behaviour of women has also been seen as the reason by 49 per cent, 30 per cent and 70 per cent from the three locations respectively," the study notes.
The study also revealed that 35 per cent of men and 50 per cent women have perceived sexual aggression in men as responsible for sexual harassment of women.
It is also found that 70 per cent of the respondents have said to face sexual abuse from work partners or colleagues, 63 per cent from office seniors, 48 per cent from friends and 38 per cent from teachers.
According to the study, 87 per cent respondents agreed that women suffer from verbal abuse, 88 per cent have suffered from physical abuse and 94 per cent stated that they are being stared at.
On enhancing safety for women in public places, 96 per cent respondents suggested that crowded buses or stations should be under constant camera surveillance, 93 per cent wanted public places well lit, 90 per cent prefers frequent police patrolling, 94 per cent said legal punishments should be made harsher while 92 per cent said judicial disposals should be made quicker.
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EY’s Rajiv Memani regrets absence at employee's funeral amid work culture criticism
New Delhi: Rajiv Memani, the chairperson of Ernst and Young India, expressed sadness that no one from the firm attended the employee's funeral, saying it was "alien to our culture" and that the individual had supposedly died from extreme work pressure. Memani, who has been subject to intense criticism on social media for what he perceives to be a hostile work environment, expressed his profound sadness for the untimely death of Anna Sebastian Perayil in a post on LinkedIn.
"Although nothing can completely fill the gap in the family's lives, I have sent them my sincerest sympathies. I sincerely apologize for our absence from Anna's burial. This is not at all representative of our culture. Memani said, "It has never happened before and it won't happen again." He also emphasized that he would not stop until the objective of "nurturing a harmonious workplace" was achieved.
Clarifying further he said, “Creating a healthy work environment has always been very important to us, and we place the utmost value on our employees' well-being."I want to reaffirm that our people's welfare is my first priority, and I will personally fight for this goal.”
On July 20, Anna Sebastian Perayil, an employee of E&Y since March, passed away. This week, the incident came to light due to the widespread distribution of her mother Anita Augustine's open letter to the corporation, in which she claimed that Anna gave in to "work pressure".
Augustine stated that her daughter's funeral was attended by no one from the company in question. "I contacted her managers following her burial, but I didn't hear back. In the letter, she said, "How can a company that claims to uphold human rights and values fail to stand by one of its own in their last moments?"
As a result of his denial that “work pressure" was the cause of the Pune woman's death, Memani came under fire on social media, according to an Indian Express article.
The Center started looking into what happened before Anna passed away as the matter escalated in urgency. Shobha Karandlaje, the minister of state for labor, announced on Thursday that a comprehensive inquiry into the claims of a hazardous and exploitative workplace was under progress.
