#MeToo movement: Govt sets up GoM to look into sexual harassment at work place

The GoM has been set up in the wake of #MeToo movement where several women have publicly named people who had harassed them at their workplace.

The GoM has been set up in the wake of #MeToo movement where several women have publicly named people who had harassed them at their workplace.. Photo: AFP

NEW DELHI: Days after the resignation of Union Minister MJ Akbar over #MeToo allegations, the Centre has on Wednesday constituted a GoM headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh to examine the existing legal and institutional frameworks for dealing with matters of sexual harassment of women at workplace. The members of the GoM are Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi. "The Group of Ministers has been constituted in view of the felt need for broader consultation on this issue, from the point of view of developing appropriate recommendations and laying down a comprehensive plan of action and for ensuring its time bound implementation," the Home Ministry said in a statement. The Group of Ministers will, within 3 months of its constitution, examine the existing provisions for the safety of women, including those mentioned above, and recommend further measures required to strengthen and make them more effective. The Ministry of Women & Child Development has also launched an Electronic Complaints Box that enables women, irrespective of their work status, to raise their voice against sexual harassment at workplace. "Once a complaint is submitted to the ‘SHe-Box’, it is directly sent to the concerned authority having jurisdiction to take action into the matter. A mechanism will be put in place to regularly monitor the action taken on the complaints," the ministry said. The GoM has been set up in the wake of #MeToo movement where several women have publicly named people who had harassed them at their workplace.