Awareness session on Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) held in Sri City

A PoSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment at Work) Act awareness session was held in Sri City on Friday. The event was jointly organized by Sri City, the Madras Management Association (MMA), and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), featuring Ms. Thilaga Porchelvan, a Certified POSH Trainer, as the speaker.

Mr. V. Sivakumar, AGM, HR, Sri City extended a warm welcome to all the participants and introduced the guest speaker. In a brief explanation of the purpose for holding the session and the importance of the topic, Mr. R. Sathish Kumar, Head, Membership & Chapters, MMA, Chennai urged the audience to actively participate in order to learn more.

Ms. Thilaga began her session by explaining briefly the genesis of the PoSH Act, 2013 as an outcome of the landmark judgment Vishakha vs. State of Rajasthan. She explained the meaning of ‘Sexual Harassment’ with the help of case laws and examples. She also spoke about the impact of such behaviour upon women and the need for educating staff at the workplace. 

Emphasising the need of a safe and supportive workplace environment, Ms. Thilaga underscored the harmful impact of sexual harassment on both individuals and organisations. She discussed the role of Internal Complaints Committees (ICCs), and complaint filing procedures. Citing a real-life examples, she discussed about employers’ responsibilities in preventing such happenings. She advised on raising awareness, implementing policies, and establishing a robust ICC framework. The session also covered workers’ responsibilities and entitlements under the PoSH Act, emphasising their rights and enabling appropriate responses in case of encountering or witnessing sexual harassment. 

Commenting on the conduct of the session Dr. Ravindra Sannareddy, Founder Managing Director, Sri City said, “Such sessions will definitely help in heightening awareness of the issue and a commitment to contribute to a harassment-free workplace for women.”

The participants actively interacted with the speaker and sought clarification on different aspects of the PoSH Act. The session was attended by a total of 100 employees from various industrial units.