#MeToo The Fallout & Your Legal Recourse

Advocate Vandana Shah guides you on getting legal recourse for #Metoo in India.

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With the #Metoo movement reaching a tipping point in India, so many women are finally speaking up. So what are the legal actions women who are part of the #Metoo movement can take?

Sexual Harassment is defined clearly in The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. Section 2 n. “sexual harassment” includes any one or more of the following unwelcome acts or behaviour (whether directly or by implication) namely:—

i. Physical contact and advances; or

ii. A demand or request for sexual favours; or

iii. Making sexually coloured remarks; or

iv. Showing pornography; or

v. Any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature

So women who are employed in an organization, let’s say the women writers who have been harassed at the workplace, or women working in a corporate, can seek legal recourse by the measures provided in this Act, which guides you on filing a complaint of sexual harassment to the Internal Complaints Committee. After conducting an inquiry, the committee decides on the course of action.