Street theatre to deal with sexual harassment? Here's a firm using it to drive home the message

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26 Aug, 2025 12:21

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What would a woman do if she was repeatedly harassed sexually at every organisation she was a part of in her six-year corporate career? Having faced the ordeal very few have gone through, 26-year-old Shikha Mittal  decided to fight the ill plaguing the system.

Setting up a firm to ensure that corporates are aware of the issues related to sexual harassment, Mittal, now 35, works with both public sector and private sector firms. Her company Be.Artsy uses street theatre as a medium to help create awareness among corporate employees through workshops.

In an interaction with Moneycontrol, Mittal said that they have 800 theatre artists on board and they present plays in 16 languages.

"Theatre hits people more strongly than a regular power-point presentation during a conversation around sexual harassment," she said.

Her firm has offered services for companies like Pepsico, Tata Coffee, Airtel, IndiGo Airlines, American Express and Air India. Mittal said they are currently doing a pan-India programme on Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) for Air India.

How did she start off?

When Mittal entered the corporate field, she did not know what would be expected of her as a barely 20 year-old postgraduate in the corporate world. She switched almost 14 jobs in a span of six years.

"I wasn't able to believe that this was happening to me. I did raise complaints across companies but no concrete actions were being taken. That is when I realised that I had to do something of my own," said Mittal.

Mittal experimented with a not-for-profit entity called Be.Cause in February 2010. But, it went bankrupt in eight months.

In November 2010, she set up Be.Artsy as a for-profit entity whose mission was to address the menace of sexual harassment at workplaces.

"A lot of women at the workplace do not realise that they are being sexually harassed. Even I was not initially aware about the incidents that were happening with me and how this was actually harassment," she added.

Being a History graduate and a Bharatanatyam dancer, Mittal said that she wanted to use art to make a difference and ensure that no woman suffered.

How does the entity work?

As part of the Be.Artsy programmes, artists use theatre to impart lessons on POSH and what is appropriate and inappropriate. They guide employees as well as the Internal Committee (IC) members on how to deal with POSH cases.

Companies are guided by the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH) that deals with cases of sexual harassment of women and mandates companies to follow certain protocols for complaints filed.

IC refers to a committee that is mandatory and has to be set by companies under the POSH Act. IC handles cases of sexual harassment filed by women at the workplace and has the powers to pass decisions.

Mittal explained that there has been a rise in awareness about POSH after the MeToo movement that led to a lot of offenders being outed on social media. This was followed by companies striking down heavily on alleged perpetrators.

“Awareness should be a business responsibility before it is a social responsibility. And we are helping companies do that,” she added.

Taking the message forward, Mittal said that women often did not complain because they did not have the financial freedom to quit a job. To address this issue, Be.Artsy also started financial awareness and literacy-related programmes using street theatre as a medium.

What next?

While the companies did not want to be quoted because the POSH Act mandates that cases have to be kept fully confidential, Mittal said that her validation is when companies have accepted that there are some gaps that have to be filled.

"The IC members at firms have also admitted that there are some unconscious biases in the way cases are dealt with. When they saw the street theatre awareness programme, they have been able to realise some of the biases that come into play and take a call to remove them for future cases," she added.

Going forward, Mittal said that they will be looking to focus on areas like emotional intelligence and offer structured programmes to companies on this. Even here she said that the focus will be on using art as a medium to have these awareness campaigns.