In a significant move to ensure a safe and secure working environment, the Madurai city traffic police have established a unified Internal Complaints Committee (ICC). This centralised body is specifically designed to address and prevent sexual harassment at the workplace for its women personnel.
Addressing a Logistical Hurdle
The initiative comes following a mandate from the Director General of Police (DGP), which required every police station with more than ten personnel to have an independent committee. However, the Madurai traffic police division faced a unique challenge. Each of its ten stations typically has only two women officers, making it difficult to form separate, fully-functional committees at each location.
To overcome this logistical hurdle while strictly adhering to the spirit of the directive, officials devised an innovative solution. Instead of multiple small committees, they established a single, centralised ICC. This unified committee will serve and protect all 22 women officers working across the entire traffic division of Madurai.
Composition of the Empowered Committee
The newly formed committee boasts a diverse and authoritative membership to ensure fair and legal proceedings. It will be chaired by Police Inspector (Traffic Planning) S Shobana. The committee also includes vital external members to provide legal and social perspective.
These members are an advocate from the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, the legal adviser P Krishnaveni, a representative from the Juvenile Justice Board, and B Pandiyaraja, a member from civil society. This composition ensures the panel has the necessary expertise to handle complaints with sensitivity and authority.
A Proactive Step for Workplace Safety
This proactive step by the Madurai traffic police highlights a commitment to ensuring that procedural requirements do not become an obstacle to protecting staff. By centralising the ICC, they have effectively guaranteed that every woman officer in the traffic division, regardless of her specific posting, has clear and accessible recourse to address grievances related to workplace sexual harassment.
The establishment of this committee is seen as a crucial measure in fostering a culture of respect and safety. It sends a strong message about the department's zero-tolerance policy towards harassment and its dedication to upholding the dignity and rights of its women personnel.
