New draft bill may replace the word 'rape' with 'sexual assault'

The govt. is working on to replace the word 'rape' from Indian Penal Code with 'sexual assault' to broaden the ambit of crimes covered under the sections and make the provisions gender-neutral.

The Home Ministry is working on a draft bill which will replace the word 'rape' from nearly 150 year old Indian Penal Code with 'sexual assault' in order to broaden the ambit of crimes covered, official sources said.

Equity Foundation is a Non Governmental Organisation founded in 2002 and formally registered under Societies Registration Act on March 26, 2003, with a primary objective of empowering women and educating children through creating new pathways for overcoming the obstacles to Women and Child development through a synergy of ''Knowledge'', ''Voice'' and ''Action''. The Organistion provides knowledge through information and training which ultimately leads to expression through voice which culminates into action. Since its inception, EF has endeavoured through research, training, and publication to reach all those who are concerned with various aspects of gender. The area of focus are- Panchayati Raj, Gender Budget, Training, Research and documentation, preparing IEC materials on various relevant issues etc.

VISHAKA

THE JOURNEY TO FORUM VISHAKA

Protection of Women against sexual harassment at workplace bill 2010 would help in creating an enabling environment for women to work without any fear of any form of harassment that in turn would deter their withdrawal of employment from the labour market. This bill however needs a careful discussion on its strengths and weaknesses as it has also left out the domestic workers from its purview. Recognising this need, Equity Foundation, Bihar is planning to launch VISHAKA a FORUM on protection of women against Sexual Harassment at Workplace. VISHAKA will be dedicated to ordinary working women with extraordinary life. VISHAKA will engage with representatives from the Government, Media, Civil Society, Trade Unions, Academics and working women who will discuss the issues and challenges, its gaps and strengths with pragmatic approach. It aims to focus on the issue of Gender Discrimination at work keeping the recent amendments to the Bill in mind. It will also provide inputs to develop gender sensitisation amongst employees adopt gender equitable policies and achieve compliance under the law governing sexual harassment and discrimination in India. VISHAKA will also provide awareness of various legal options in handling various issues faced by employers, management, unions and so on.

BE A MEMBER OF VISHAKA- A FORUM TO FIGHT AGAINST SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT WORKPLACE