Ethics in Public Administration

Answer: The ‘Me Too Movement’ in India was inspired by a global campaign against sexual harassment and assault directed at women. In 2018, women across the spectrum opened up and shared their stories about abuse by men in positions of power. The Movement gave a voice to many voiceless women in India and helped raise pertinent issues relating to the safety of women, especially in the workplace, such as:

• Calling out powerful perpetrators: Women named and shamed their abusers, most of whom held powerful positions. Despite the anticipated backlash, hate messages, and the taboo attached to being a victim, women in large numbers came out with their accounts of harassment and abuse. It was momentous and many alleged perpetrators had to resign from their position of power and even faced trials.
• Bringing workplace safety into public discourse: After decades of silence, sexual harassment at the workplace was acknowledged and talked about openly. The conversations that took place in whispers were suddenly loud and clear.
• Change in the work culture: The Movement led to a conversation about what inappropriate behavior and harassment comprise. It forced companies and institutions to introspect, and constitute the Internal Complaint Committee (ICC) and follow the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH Act) in its letter and spirit.
• Rise in complaints: The number of registered complaints under the POSH Act also spiked. It showed that women are now comfortable and aware of their rights to complain about sexual harassment.

Although the Me Too Movement empowered women to speak up, the impact was momentary. It did not result in a substantial structural change in the workplace culture or society in general, as it had the following limitations:

• Limited to social media outrage: One of the major flaws of the ‘Me Too Movement’ is that it stops at social media outrage, while the goal should be about changing a mindset and a culture that enables harassment. There was no attack on the patriarchal mindset that expects women not to push back or retaliate.
• Limited impact on women from smaller towns: The Movement was largely confined to the privileged sections and did not have much impact on people from smaller towns or financially weaker backgrounds. For instance, it did not talk about the daily wage workers or domestic workers because many of them are not on social media.
• Limited in scope: Many members from across the LGBTQ spectrum said that the Movement only recognized a heteronormative paradigm and that even after the judgment decriminalizing homosexuality under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, social stigma and potential exclusion by family members kept the Me Too Movement inaccessible to them.
• No structural changes: The Movement did not result in any major change or effective enforcement of the sexual harassment law by the government. For instance, Local Complaints Committees at the district level for workers from the unorganized sector are still non-functional in many states.

Despite its limitations, the Movement has set the ball rolling and brought about awareness regarding sexual harassment at the workplace. The need of the hour is to sensitize people about sexual crimes, especially young men. Further, corporations need to conduct sessions and keep their Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) in order.