70% of women who perceive sexual harassment at workplace do not complain: NCW

National Commission for Women (NCW) member-secretary Satbir Bedi on Saturday said that about 70 per cent of women who perceive sexual harassment at workplace do not complain.

Bedi was speaking at a one-day consultation organised by the Telangana State Commission for Women, in collaboration with National Commission for Women, on 'Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013'.

"Seventy per cent, rather 69 per cent of women who perceive sexual harassment at work never complain," she said. While some do not complain, there are also many who try to take advantage of laws to blackmail the system, she said.

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Observing that laws are in place to deal with exploitation and sexual harassment of women, Bedi said awareness on them needs to be promoted. "There is a huge plethora of Acts and schemes to prevent women... from exploitation...The fault does not lie in the laws, it does not lie in the schemes," she said.

Laws are in place and what matters is the choice one makes on using them, she said. Justice G Yathirajulu, a former High Court judge, stressed on the need for women employees to collectively fightagainst sexual harassment.

Telangana State Commission for Women Chairperson T Venkataratnam said the consultation has been organised to send recommendations to the Centre to add more teeth to the law. She said some institutions have not acted the way they should on matters of sexual harassment of women at workplace.

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