THE STANDARD OF UNWELCOME CONDUCT AND THE VIRTUAL WORKPLACE UNDER THE SEXUAL HARASSMENT OF WOMEN AT WORKPLACE ACT, 2013

This paper examines whether the “unwelcome conduct” standard in the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 can sufficiently protect women against covert harassment or harassment through technological mediums. This paper demonstrates that while the language of the Act is broad enough to cover both, the law does not provide any criteria for determining unwelcomeness, nor does it explicitly include virtual workplaces. The protection, therefore, hinges on the subjective interpretation of each of the Internal Committees and the courts, which results in inconsistency. Through doctrinal analysis, comparison with other nations such as the United Kingdom and the United States, and brief hypothetical examples, the paper argues that the solution does not lie in enacting a new law but in rules, guidelines and training, and a balancing of an impact-based standard with the procedure for the respondent, as directed by the Supreme Court in Aureliano Fernandes v. State of Goa.