🟣 Ending the Silence: Why Sexual Harassment at Workplaces Demands Urgent Action

Recent incidents across India have once again exposed a disturbing truth—spaces meant for learning and working are failing to protect women. From a tragic case in Odisha where a student lost her life after being ignored repeatedly, to horrifying reports from Karnataka and West Bengal, the message is clear: laws alone are not enough.

Despite the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013 mandating Internal Complaints Committees (ICCs), many institutions still don’t comply. The law exists, but implementation is weak. The consequences? Devastating and irreversible.

This editorial raises some tough questions:

🔹 Why are victims still afraid to report abuse?

🔹 Why are ICCs not present in every college and office?

🔹 Why do institutions turn a blind eye until it’s too late?

The Vishaka Guidelines and the post-Nirbhaya reforms were steps in the right direction. But if nearly 4.45 lakh crimes against women were reported in a single year—and many more go unreported—then something is broken.

This isn’t just a legal issue. It’s a cultural one.

It's time to shift from selective outrage to sustained accountability.

Because if women aren't safe where they study and work, where are they safe?

#WomenSafety #StopSexualHarassment #POSHAct2013 #WorkplaceEquality #GenderJustice #LegalReforms #VishakaGuidelines #NirbhayaReforms #IndiaForWomen #HumanRights #SocialJustice #NCBData #WomenEmpowerment