Day 5: Local Committees, Remote Justice

On the 5th day of the 2022 Prajnya 16 Days Campaign Against Gender Violence, a discussion on "Local Committees, Remote Justice" was organised. In this structured discussion on Local Committees, their challenges and awareness of them, the Tamil Nadu Labourers' Rights Federation and Gramavaani presented the findings of a survey they conducted to gauge awareness of Local Committees in Tamil Nadu. This was followed by a presentation by Prajnya's Rajaram Research Fellow Preeti Karmarkar of her research on Local Committees in Maharashtra. The session started with videos in Marathi, Hindi and Tamil on workplace sexual harassment which you can find here. You may find a saved video of the recording here. 

The discussion began with a short overview of a study conducted on the Level of Awareness on ICC/LCC among women workers, facilitated by the Tamil Nadu Labour Rights Federation (TLRF). TLRF largely works with the unorganised sector, where the ICCs and LCCs are poorly implemented. Gramvaani, a partner of the project, tried to take this campaign to a larger audience. Richardson, of the organisation, mentioned that, initially while the issue was brought to the forefront, there was no data to supplement the same. Post this, testimonials were collected from labourers and a survey was shared in 2020 to serve the purpose outlined earlier. The survey results showed that 27% of the respondents were construction workers, followed by 22.7% engaged in the agricultural sector, under the MNREGA. The responses showed that 80.5% of the respondents had not faced harassment in their workplace. This was a contradiction to the experiences from the field, where interactions with labourers show instances of harassment (though they may be hesitant to share the same). TLRF also filed RTIs in three districts to know the situation of LCCs and found that of Madurai, Virudhunagar and Dindugal, only the district administration of Dindugal provided details of the LCC. During the course of the discussion, Latha from Dharmagiri district also highlighted the experiences of women engaged in several unorganised sectors (construction, garment, health workers and women working in pharmacies) with respect to workplace sexual harassment. Additionally, she also highlighted the experiences of students in schools and colleges, particularly during the pandemic.

This discussion was followed by Preeti Karmarkar, a Rajaram fellow, who highlighted the functioning of Local Committees in Maharashtra. The study employed using a feminist socio-legal approach to gather data. The striking finding across the entire study area is that there is not one complaint from the unorganised sector in the LCs. The complaints from the organised sector that the LCs have received have been primarily against the employer. When the LCs received complaints, they conducted inquiries and gave recommendations. Additionally, Preeti also highlighted the challenges faced by the LC members, and further explained the methods through which LCs could be strengthened. Dr. Anagha Sarpotdar also supplemented the discussion with her experiences from the field.

About the Speakers:

1. Dr Anagha Sarpotdar: Social Scientist by Training Specialising in Work Aimed at Combating Workplace Sexual Harassment and she is a Consultant, Trainer, Author, Researcher, and does Workplace Sexual Harassment Inquiries (Based in India, Mumbai)

2. Preeti Karmarkar: Managing Trustee at Nari Samata Manch, she is trained as a Social Scientist and Gender expert, Preeti is associated with Nari Samata Manch since 1998. She has 22 years of experience in social development field in the areas of grassroot mobilization, project development and Management, M&E, policy as well as investigative research and NGO management with national and international exposure. She is an experienced gender trainer and provide consultation for gender integration in programme. She also provides training/consultation for implementation of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 and work as external members for renowned organizations. Earlier she has worked at Women’s Studies Centre (University of Pune), YASHADA and BAIF Development Research Foundation.