Objective

The objectives of the Cell and its policy are:

• To create healthy & safe working environment for all, specifically for women employees and students.
• To prevent discrimination and sexual harassment against the women, by providing gender amity among students and employees.
• To lay down procedures for the prohibition, resolution, settlement and prosecution of acts of discrimination and sexual harassment against the women, by the students and employees.
• Deal with the cases of discrimination and sexual harassment against the women, in a time bound manner aiming at ensuring support services to the victimised and termination of the harassment.
• Recommend appropriate punitive action against the guilty party to the Chair / Provost of the university.

Definition

Sexual Harassment includes such unwelcome sexually determined behaviour by any person individually or in association with other person or by any person in authority, either directly or by implications such as ;

1. Any unwanted conduct with sexual undertones if it occurs or which is persistent and which demands, humiliates or creates a hostile and intimidating environment or is calculated to induce submission by actual or threatened adverse consequences and includes any one or more or all of the following unwelcome acts or behaviour (whether directly or by implication), namely;
   - any unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature
   - demand or request for sexual favours
   - making sexually coloured remarks
   - trying to have physical contact and advances
   - eve teasing, jokes causing or likely to cause awkwardness or embarrassment
   - showing ponography
   - Innuendos and taunts
   - Gender based insults or sexiest remarks
   
2. Any one (or more than one or all) of the following circumstances, if it occurs or is present in relation or connected with any behaviour that has explicit or implicit sexual undertones:
   - promise of preferential treatments as quid pro quo for sexual favours
   - threat of detrimental treatment in the conduct of work
   - threat about the present or future status of the person concerned
   - creating an intimidating offensive or hostile learning environment
   - humiliating treatment which is likely to affect the health, safety and dignity or physical integrity of the person concerned
   
3. Physical confinement against one’s will and any other act likely to violate one’s privacy.
4. Any act of gender discrimination such as denial of employment to women due to women’s reproductive role or rigidity in attitude, which hinders the reproductive role to women (for example, non-flexible working hours and timings, non- availability of day care services, lack of maternity leave etc.)

Aggrieved Women means in relation to work place, a woman of any age whether employed or not, who alleges to have been subjected by any act of sexual harassment by the respondent.

Campus means any location or the land on which CHARUSAT university and its constituent institutional facilities like libraries, laboratories, lecture halls, residences, halls, auditoriums, toilets, students centres, hostels, dining halls, parking areas, other amenities like health centre, canteen, bank counters etc. are situated and also includes extended campus and covers within its scope places visited as a student of the institute including transportations provided for the purpose of commuting to and from the institutions, the locations outside the institution on field trips, internships, study tours, short-term placements, places used for camps, cultural festivals, sports meets and such other activities where a person is participating in the capacity of an employee or a student of concern institute or university.

Employee means a person employed by the CHARUSAT university or its institutes (regular/term/contract basis) and also includes for this regulations trainee, apprentice (or called by any other name), interns, volunteers, teacher assistants, research assistant whether employed or not including those involved in field studies, projects, short-visits, camps etc.

Student means a person duly admitted and pursuing a programme study including short-term training programmes in the university. Provided that a student who is in the process of taking admission in any of the institutes under the university, although not yet admitted, shall be treated, for the purposes of these regulations as a student. Provided that a student who is a participant in any of the activities in Higher Education Institutions other than the HEI where such student is enrolled shall be treated for the purpose of these regulations as a student of that HEI where any incident of sexual harassment takes place against such student.

Third party harassment refers to a situation where sexual harassment occurs as a result of an act or omission by any third party or outsider, who is not an employee or a student of the university but a visitor to the university in some other capacity or for some other purpose or reason.

For more details, read following document.