Responding to #metoo

The ambit of sexual harassment Act needs to widen

When the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, was passed in 2013 it was considered a significant expansion of the Supreme Court guideline of 1997 dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace. The #metoo movement that has gripped the media and the entertainment industry over the past two weeks suggests that the law urgently requires further expansion. The 2013 Act expanded the ambit to cover women in any working environment – from domestic helps to those in the unorganised sector and covers clients and customers. Critically, it also expanded the sphere of the workplace from