Government Data Shows 254 Women Reported Workplace Harassment via SHe-Box Portal in 2024
Data shared by the government in Parliament has revealed that as many as 254 women filed complaints regarding sexual harassment at the workplace under the POSH Act through the Women and Child Development Ministry's SHe-Box portal last year. This information was disclosed in response to a written question in the Rajya Sabha by Minister of State for Women and Child Development Savitri Thakur.
Overall Complaints and Disposal Rates
Since the portal was revamped and launched in a new avatar on August 29, 2024, to enhance monitoring of the law's implementation, a total of 296 complaints have been received. Of these, 21 were filed up to February 6 of this year. Minister Thakur stated that 105 complaints out of the 296 have been disposed of, indicating ongoing efforts to address these cases.
Purpose and Features of the SHe-Box Portal
The SHe-Box portal, which stands for Sexual Harassment Electronic Box, was introduced as a transformative digital governance initiative to ensure robust and transparent implementation of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. Minister Thakur highlighted that the portal was conceived with the objective of creating a central repository of information on Local Committees (LCs) and Internal Committees (ICs), which was previously unavailable.
Key features of the portal include:
- Single-window access for women across all sectors to file complaints of sexual harassment.
- Ensuring ease of reporting with full confidentiality and accessibility.
- Centralized data management and monitoring of POSH Act implementation.
- Real-time tracking of complaint status.
- Promoting transparent communication between complainants and authorities.
Implementation and Compliance Details
The Rajya Sabha was informed that 777 districts have uploaded Local Committee details to the portal. Out of these, details of 646 District Officers are available, and information for 624 nodal officers has been uploaded. Additionally, over 1,48,700 workplaces have been onboarded, including 92,400 government establishments and 56,300 private establishments. Approximately 60,700 Internal Committees have updated their details, with 37,400 from government sectors and 23,300 from private sectors.
To ensure timely disposal of complaints within the statutory period of ninety days, the portal issues automated notifications to nodal officers and chairpersons at regular intervals—30, 60, and 90 days. In cases of pendency beyond ninety days, freeze messages, SMS, and email alerts are triggered to enforce prompt action.
For accountability and statutory compliance with POSH Act rules, the portal provides an option for Internal Committees to upload their Annual Reports and confirm submission to the concerned District Officers.
Upcoming Awareness Initiatives
To step up outreach and build awareness around the law, the Women and Child Development Ministry is organizing a national conference on the safety of women at the workplace (SHe-Box) on Saturday at Vigyan Bhawan. Led by WCD Minister Annpurna Devi, the conference will bring together senior officials from central ministries, states and union territories, chairpersons and members of Internal Committees and Local Committees, nodal officers, international organizations, industry leaders, and civil society representatives.
This initiative underscores the government's commitment to fostering a safer work environment for women and ensuring effective implementation of the POSH Act through digital tools and collaborative efforts.
