Sexual Harassment: Bill to be passed soon

New Delhi, Feb 18 : Waking up after the numerous cases of sexual harassment, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said that

would pass the

of

at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, 2012 to cope with increasing violence and sexual offences against women.

"It is our hope that parliament will urgently pass the necessary legislation to enact a comprehensive law in this regard. It is indeed a matter of shame that notwithstanding the gains we have made, incidents of violence and sexual offences against women are on the increase," Manmohan Singh said here.

Although the Bill (Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, 2012 was passed by the lower house of Parliament last year, it is yet to be approved by the Upper House.

"While more women are now joining the formal economy as a result, a corollary of these developments has been the heightened risk to their safety and security," Manmohan Singh added.

While Delhi University has reported many such cases, IIT- Bombay had also reported a case on sexual harassment. In IIM-Bangalore too there is a case of sexual harassment. In Bangalore, IT companies have been witnessing a rise in complaints on sexual harassment. Karnataka labour department has unofficially registered over 700 complaints last year which are from the IT and biotech sector.

Recently ,the University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked universities to 'provide information about complaints received about sexual harassment in campuses and whether they have a policy and procedure to deal with such cases.' Universities have been given a deadline of March 4 to do so.

Oneindia News