The Nation has been shook by the recent rape tragedy that happened with a resident doctor at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal. A doctor after working her shift was raped and murdered.

On the eve of Independence Day, tricolour flags were replaced by placards demanding justice; parades proudly showcasing the glory of our nation were replaced with protests of people who were ashamed at the fact that even after 78 years of our independence, women are still not allowed to live freely. It seems that the country does not care about the independence of women and is content with the independence of men.

If women are not even safe while working, where are they safe? At times like this, Child Help Foundation strongly feels that we need to make workplaces safer for women.

One such provision in our country is the POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) Act, 2013. The act provides legal protection to female workers in our country.

The PoSH Act, 2013:

• Creates a formal complaint mechanism
• Defines roles and responsibilities
• Ensures prompt inquiry and action
• Provides safeguards against victimization

This combined with rampant educational campaigns detailing the legal provision has the provision to greatly reduce the number of sexual harassment complaints.

Child Help Foundation strongly encourages every company to have an Internal Complaint Committee (ICC). ICC is a committee with a minimum of four members, with half of the members being women. This committee takes action against every sexual harassment complaint recorded.

However, the inclusion of the ICC is not enough as Child Help Foundation believes that students should be educated about women’s safety right from childhood. Child Help Foundation holds sessions educating children about ‘good-touch-bad-touch’, these sessions not only make children aware of sexual harassment but also teach boys to not engage in inappropriate behaviour with women.

While protesting has a huge impact on the collective consciousness of the nation, the fight for a better world for women does not stop there. We need to make a change in our daily lives. Stop your friends from making inappropriate jokes about women, and start treating women as human beings rather than objects of lust or possession. When you start thinking of them as flesh-and-blood human beings with their own needs, wants and desires, you automatically change your perception.

When someone robs men of accountability and suggests that women themselves are responsible for such heinous crimes, remind them these are not new cases but have been happening for decades and engage them with rhetoric that makes them realize their hypocrisy. For example;

Person 1: “This is a direct consequence of Western feminism which has poisoned our society. If women don’t stay out at night, these things won’t happen.”

Person 2: “If men are so subservient to their desires and are a threat to women. Shouldn’t they be the ones forced to stay at home?”

While engaging in such a dialogue you are not advocating for reduced rights for men but exposing their flawed logic and rationale. You can also remind them that women are not safe even in their own homes and are unsafe from their own relatives, which could be their husband, uncles or even their fathers.

Child Help Foundation regularly raises awareness of POSH and has helped to form ICC in various organisations. We also regularly hold sessions educating people about gender equality. 86,895 people have been educated about gender equality through our work.

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