Cracking the Code: An Audit of Government Offices of North Goa for Compliance on Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act 2013
| Published date | 01 June 2024 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/00195561241236102 |
| Author | Pronamika Goswami,Hitesh Fatania,Lagnaa Aditya,Anamika Sinha,Arlette Mascatenhas |
| Date | 01 June 2024 |
Cracking the Code:
An Audit of Government
Offices of North Goa
for Compliance on
Prevention of Sexual
Harassment Act 2013
Pronamika Goswami1, Hitesh Fatania2, Lagnaa Aditya2,
Anamika Sinha2 and Arlette Mascatenhas3
Introduction
Gender-based violence (GBV) and sexual harassment (SH) have been identied
by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as signicant concerns for both mental
and public health (WHO, 2023). Despite this recognition, instances of GBV and
SH remain prevalent and often unreported (Bondestam & Lundqvist, 2020). To
prevent GBV and SH, legal consciousness where consciousness of the law for the
stakeholders is prioritised and a study of how law is implemented rather than the
spirit of the law is considered relevant. The power-distant organisations, such as
hierarchical and leader-centric government institutions like that of the Government
of India, experience higher rates of GBV and SH compared to rms with low
power distance (Tinkler & Zhao, 2020) and much remains unspoken and unre-
searched on this knowing-doing gap. For example, what is the law and how is
instrumentalised for every woman in government ofces.
In order to answer what is the Law, the implementation of the Prevention of
Sexual Harassment (PoSH) Act in 2013 in India, mandates conduct of regular
audits to assess the level of compliance and awareness, the effectiveness of griev-
ance redressal mechanisms, educational initiatives and the creation of conducive
environments aimed at reducing workplace harassment and GBV in government
ofces in the State of Goa. This is over and above the grievance management in
case of a sexual harassment incidence occurring.
Note
Indian Journal of Public
Administration
70(2) 419–423, 2024
© 2024 IIPA
Article reuse guidelines:
in.sagepub.com/journals-permissions-india
DOI: 10.1177/00195561241236102
journals.sagepub.com/home/ipa
1 Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Govindapura, Yelahanka, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
2 Goa Institute of Management, Sanquelim, Goa, India
3 Goa Institute of Public administration and Rural development—GIPARD, Ella, Goa, India
Corresponding author:
Pronamika Goswami, Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Govindapura, Yelahanka,
Bengaluru, Karnataka 560064, India.
E-mail: pronamikagoswami@gmail.com
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