#MeToo: How political parties deal with sexual harassment cases

A protester raises a placard reading "#MeToo" during a rally against harassment at Shinjuku shopping and amusement district in Tokyo, Japan, April 28, 2018. Picture taken April 28, 2018. REUTERS/Issei Kato - RC19441C57D0

The '#MeToo' wave hit Indian politics when journalist Priya Ramani accused Union Minister of State for External Affairs, MJ Akbar of sexual harassment.

In no time, more women came out against Akbar and the number has now reached 20.

These allegations of sexual harassment raise questions on how well prepared political parties are to deal with such cases.

According to a report by The Economic Times, both Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) do not have internal complaints committee (ICC).

Prevention of Sexual Harassment at workplace also known as the POSH Act demands that an ICC should be established at all workplaces. The committee is for the redressal of sexual harassment cases.

It is also compulsory for political parties that are registered under the Societies Registration Act to have an ICC. The BJP and Congress  functionaries have however owned up to the fact that the parties do not have ICCs.

While BJP has a disciplinary committee, Congress instituted a probe panel in June to deal with sexual harassment cases.

BJP’s disciplinary panel

Disciplinary complaints are filed with BJP's office. These cases are then marked to the disciplinary committee. The panel is headed by Guwahati Member of Parliament Bijoya Chakravarty.

How Congress deals with such cases

In June, Congress formed a panel to probe allegations against National Students' Union of India (NSUI) chief Fairoz Khan. The panel’s members included Deepinder Hooda, Sushmita Dev and Ragini Nayak. Their report was submitted last week after which Khan stepped down.

Women's wing chief Dev explained that if there is a case of sexual harassment, it is registered at the state level. It is then referred to the party headquarters.

"There is a disciplinary committee that looks at all cases related to discipline. However, the party constitution allows the head of the disciplinary committee to set up an ICC as required under guidelines of the law," Dev told the newspaper.

No ICC, only disciplinary committees

Members of both parties are of the opinion that although there is no ICC, the environment is very approachable.

A woman BJP functionary in the youth wing told the newspaper, "A cadre member can directly approach her unit head or any senior woman leader."

Violence against women in politics

According to a 2014 report by United Nations on ‘Violence against women in politics’, politics in the Indian subcontinent has a reputation for being aggressive and violent.

The study found that violence against women in politics (VAWIP) is underpinned by the concentration and centralization of the patriarchal mind-set within Indian subcontinent.

The most widespread forms of VAWIP according to the stakeholders interviewed were related to expectation of sexual favours and the threat of violence.