Vishakha vs state case

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1. Vishakha vs state case By Kiran Varma - IndianlawInfo

2. Contents About History What is Sexual Harassment Harassment of Women in WorkSpace Who is Bhanwari Devi The Court D ecision References

3. About Vishakha and others v State of Rajasthan was a 1997 Indian Supreme Court case where Vishakha and other women groups filed Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against State of Rajasthan and Union of India to enforce the fundamental rights of working women under Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India. The petition was filed after Bhanwari Devi, a social worker in Rajasthan was brutally gang raped for stopping a child marriage.

4. 2. History In India, before 1997, there were no formal guidelines for how an incident involving sexual harassment at workplace should be dealt by an employer. Women experiencing sexual harassment at workplace had to lodge a complaint under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code that deals with the 'criminal assault of women to outrage women's modesty' and Section 509 that punishes an individual or individuals for using a 'word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman'. These sections left the interpretation of 'outraging woman's modesty' to the discretion of the police officer

5. 3. What is Sexual Harassment Sexual harassment includes such unwelcome sexually determined behaviour (whether directly or by implication) as: a) physical contact and advances; b) a demand or request for sexual favours; c) sexually coloured remarks; d) showing pornography; e) any other unwelcome physical verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual NATURE Where any of these acts is committed in circumstances where under the victim of such conduct has a reasonable apprehension that in relation to the victim’s employment or work whether she is drawing salary, or honorarium or voluntary, whether in government, public or private enterprise such conduct can be humiliating and may constitute a health and safety problem.

6. 4. Harassment of Women in WorkSpace Prevent the happening of such event To furnish the employees with effective mechanism for the process of resolving & trying of such indecent acts of sexual harassment For this purpose “ Sexual harassment ” means disagreeable sexually determined behavior direct or indirect as: physical contact and advances; a demand or request for sexual favours; sexually coloured remarks; showing pornography; any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature

7. 5. Who is Bhanwari Devi In 1992 Bhanwari Devi a social worker in Rajasthan was brutally gang raped by a number of upper class men, because she had tried to stop a child marriage. Bhanwari Devi was determined to get justice and lodged a case against the offenders. However, the accused was acquitted by a trial court. This appalling injustice, together with the fighting spirit of Bhanwari Devi, inspired several women’s groups and NGOs to file a petition in the Supreme Court under the collective platform of Vishakha.

8. 6. The Court Decision The court decided that the consideration of "International Conventions and norms are significant for the purpose of interpretation of the guarantee of gender equality, right to work with human dignity in Articles 14, 15 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution and the safeguards against sexual harassment implicit therein." Supreme Court of India defined sexual harassment and set guidelines for employers.

9. Reference All the content used is under free to use policy of CC.5.0 all the sources are mentioned below and all the credits for creators and developers. Content sources : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishakha_and_others_v_State_of_Rajasthan#What_is_sexual_harassment http://lawtimesjournal.in/vishakha-vs-state-of-rajasthan/ Image Sources : https://www.livelaw.in/cms/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Sexual-Harassment-at-Workplace-min.jpg