Sexual Violence: A Global Pandemic/ 12th-18th Aug
Sexual Violence: A Global Pandemic
Written by Nikunj Morarka
Policy and Legal Team
Sexual violence is a global pandemic. One in three women experience sexual or physical violence – most likely from their intimate partner, according to a report from the World Health Organization. There is an urgent need to increase sensitisation regarding sexual violence and the awareness of consent and sexual violence amongst persons at large. In this series, we examine sexual violence and related issues that have come up in the news, on a weekly basis, published every Saturday. This is an attempt to improve awareness regarding incidents of sexual violence and related matters, so that we, as a society can take steps towards collective action to reduce its incidence. It is an effort to ensure that we acknowledge the rampant sexual violence that exists, lest we forget.
This issue looks at news from the 12th August to 18th August, 2017.
Indian Help Harassed in Saudi Arabia
The sister of an Indian woman working in Saudi Arabia alleged that her sister was being physically, emotionally and sexually harassed by her employers. The alleged victim went to Saudi Arabia since she wanted to undertake the pilgrimage to Mecca and so an agent arranged a job for her as a house help which was supposed to pay her 25,000 rupees a month but things didn’t go as planned and she was harassed by her employers. The victim’s sister has asked Sushma Swaraj to help rescue her .
Hitting minor without sexual intent not Sexual Harassment
A minor girl studying in class 10 had accused a man of sexually harassing her after he spat on her and gave her a blow on her back. On the 14th of August a Delhi court held that simply giving a blow on the back cannot be construed to be Sexual Harassment under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act since the prosecution failed to show that there was any sexual intent behind the incident.
Complaint against Punjab University vice chancellor “constrained”
The Punjab University committee dealing with a teacher’s sexual harassment complaint against vice-chancellor Arun Kumar Grover said that it felt “constrained” and will continue their work only after the Ministry of Human Resource Development or the chancellor’s office authorises it. This goes to show the power that politicians have over the complaint mechanisms and reveals the lack of transparency which makes it impossible for women who have been harassed by powerful men to come forward and complain.
Indian born Canadian MP accused of sexual Harassment
Darshan Kang, an Indian born Canadian politician who is currently a liberal member of parliament has been accused of sexual harassment by a staffer and an investigation is underway. The Prime Minister of Canada has not made any comment on this issue yet. “We were made aware of the allegations and referred them, as per the House of Commons process, to the chief human resources officer,” Charles-Eric Lepine, the Chief of Staff to Chief Government Whip Pablo Rodriguez, said in an email to CBC News.
Ford pays 10.1 million dollars to settle racial and Sexual Harassment claim
Ford has agreed to pay 10.1 million dollars to settle a Racial and Sexual Harassment claim at two of their Chicago plants. This comes after The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) said that it found reasonable cause to believe that Ford conducted such activities. Ford said in a statement that it “chose to voluntarily resolve this issue without any admission of liability with the EEOC to avoid an extended dispute.”
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In case you like this new series, hate it, or think there are stories that we should be covering but have missed out on, please email us at [email protected]. We look forward to your inputs and feedback!
