New Delhi: Government today said 12 cases
of exploitation and harassment of women officers have been
registered in the armed forces in the last three years.
"Twelve cases of exploitation and harassment of women
were registered there and punishment in seven cases has been
awarded," Defence A K Antony said in reply to a Lok Sabha
query.
"Disciplinary proceedings, Court of Inquiry and
General Court Martial are in progress in four cases and one
complaint was found to be baseless," he added.
Of the 12 cases, six were registered in the Army, five
in the Air Force and one in the Navy.
The minister said to check the recurrence of such
cases, "orders have been issued on definition of sexual
harassment and procedure to deal with such cases and;
instructions have been issued emphasising 'zero tolerance'
towards these cases."
In reply to another query, Antony said there were
1,012 women officers in the Army, excluding the medical corps.
He added that a study carried out by the Integrated
Defence Staff Headquarters in 2006 had recommended exclusion
of women officers from close combat roles.
-PTI
First Published: Monday, March 15, 2010, 22:39