A total of three cases have been registered with the Local Complaints Committee (LCC) thus far out of which one was identified as a false accusation.
With the district administration devising ways to reach out to women of all sections of society, there is a need to create a safe workspace for women, intervening the shades of grey existing in the system, Joint Collector-2 D. Venkat Reddy has said.
Calling for effective investigative mechanism, he said that the district administration was gearing up for a major leap on initiating intensive advocacy drive at mandal level involving all stakeholders.
At a sensitisation programme on Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013, and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, presented by the District Women and Child Development Agency and Department of Women Development and Child Welfare, Mr. Venkat Reddy laid emphasis on constituting Internal Complaints Committees in all offices across the district.
Though adopting effective governance practices was gaining prominence in recent times, Secretary of District Legal Services Authority R.V. Naga Sundar, who was part of the session, said the failure lies in the enforcement of the existing laws. From the process of lodging a complaint with the LCC to the process of inquiry, he gave a gist of the provisions of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act.
The workshop, held at Dr. Durgabai Deshmukh Centre for Women’s Studies, Andhra University, was attended by several department heads, government officials, advocates, and professors and NGO representatives.
AU in-charge Vice-Chancellor E.A. Narayana and Director of Centre for Women’s Studies and chairperson of District Local Complaints Committee B. Ratna Kumari, who were among others who participated, stressed the need to create redressal avenues and provide a conducive atmosphere for women to grow professionally.
