New Delhi, July 03: With reports of a number of
incidents of sexual harassment of domestic helps in the
country, the government today said it will bring such cases
within the scope of a proposed law to prevent exploitation of
women at workplaces.
Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath,
replying to supplementaries in the Lok Sabha, said the
legislation will also include Dalit women, who are brought
from rural areas to work as domestic helps in the cities.
Noting that there were reports of incidents of sexual
harassment and mental torture of domestic helps, Tirath said
such trends would be contained and action taken against the
culprits whenever such reports were received.
She said as per a Supreme Court order, the government
intended to constitute Local Complaint Committees at district
and block level under the proposed bill to deal with such
complaints.
The proposed legislation would cover women working in
both organised and unorganised sectors, she added.
A number of cases of sexual exploitation of domestic
helps have come to light in the country recently, the most
high-profile being the case of Bollywood actor Shiney Ahuja
who has been accused of raping his maid.
Bureau Report
