2 days ago
Research Finds Workplace Sexual Harassment Awareness Gaps Across India
A group called POSH at Work studied workplace sexual harassment in India.
It published two reports using 103 complaints and 6,353 survey answers.
The reports found that many workers know rules exist but do not always understand how to use them.
Nearly one in four employees did not know their workplace had a POSH policy.
Many employees did not recognize abusive or vulgar language as harassment.
Some employees and managers said they might share details of ongoing complaints, even though such cases should be kept private.
Most complaints involved hostile work environments and happened outside ordinary offices or across both kinds of workplaces.
The researchers said training should help prevent harm, not only deal with it afterward.
POSH at Work released two reports based on 103 complaints and 6,353 survey responses.
Nearly 24.86% of employees were unaware that their organisation had a POSH policy.
About 90.20% of complaints involved hostile work environment harassment rather than explicit quid pro quo situations.
Only 31.07% of complaints involved incidents confined to physical office premises; 43.69% involved extended workplace settings.
Respondents reported confidentiality and disciplinary misconceptions, while respondents were found guilty in 48.04% of cases and complaints were false and malicious in 5.88%.
- Who
- POSH at Work, the workplace sexual-harassment practice of The Legal Swan, led by founder Shivangi Prasad, conducted the research.
- What
- It released two reports examining 103 workplace sexual-harassment complaints and survey responses from 6,353 participants.
- Where
- The research concerns workplaces across India and was announced from New Delhi.
- When
- The reports were released on August 31; the complaints analyzed were handled in 2025.
- Why
- The reports were intended to assess awareness, understanding, and implementation gaps amid increased compliance scrutiny by the National Commission for Women and state governments.
Key facts
- Reports
- The Quiet Crisis and The Silent Gap
- Complaint sample
- 103 workplace sexual-harassment complaints handled in 2025
- Survey sample
- 6,353 employees, students, managers, Internal Committee members, and trainers
- Policy awareness
- 24.86% of employees did not know their organisation had a POSH policy
- Complaint setting
- 43.69% involved extended workplace settings; 31.07% were confined to physical offices
- Hostile work environment
- 90.20% of complaints involved hostile work environment harassment
- Findings
- Respondents were found guilty in 48.04% of cases; 5.88% were classified as false and malicious
Quotes
Shivangi Prasad
Founder of The Legal Swan and leader of POSH at Work
“Attendance in a training room does not guarantee awareness, and awareness does not always translate into understanding. What these two reports reveal, taken together, is that POSH compliance in India is wide but not yet deep. The true objective of this framework is not to resolve complaints after harm has already occurred, but to build workplaces where such harm is less likely to occur in the first place.”
theprint.in
Sources
Related news
Himachal CM Promises Confidential Women’s Harassment Complaints, Strict Action
Madhya Women’s Commission Reviews Workplace and Cybercrime Cases
87 Tirunelveli Government Offices Lack Women’s Safety Committees
Bombay High Court convicts Tarun Tejpal of aggravated rape
Maharashtra Orders Inquiry Into Bombay Hospital Employee Complaints
Mysuru Woman's Suicide Note Alleges Workplace Harassment, No Weekly Off
UP Governor Says Women’s Empowerment Starts At Home, Education
NCW Chief Urges Women to Use Zero FIR Rights
NCW Forms Team to Probe Cash-for-Bride Practice in Mewat
Nora Fatehi Alleges Paid Influencers Amplified Sarke Chunar Backlash
