THE POSH GAP: ACADEMIA’S SILENT STRUGGLE

ABSTRACT

POSH Act or Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, is an Indian act which was legislated to protect women from sexual harassment at workplace. This act came into existence after the case of Vishakha v. State of Rajasthan, where Bhanwari Devi, a Dalit NGO worker was brutally gangraped in front of her husband by high-caste men for preventing child marriage. This case led to several reforms in the field of women protection laws. POSH Act was one of the key reforms initiated by this case. This comprehensive statute which protects women from sexual harassment at workplace has mandated several progressive steps in the country. The term “workplace” here refers to not just women permanently employed in a corporate office, rather it includes all women employed as interns, or on a contractual basis or even as a visitor. The term ‘Workplace’ even extends to include domestic setups, where women work as house helpers. The key provisions of the POSH Act include setting up of Internal Complaints Committee for redressal mechanism and makes the employer responsible for creating a safe environment for women at the workplace. This article revolves around the implementation of POSH Act in universities. It also examines how universities prevent and address the issues of sexual harassment against women. We will also look at the development universities have made so far in POSH compliance

KEYWORDS: Sexual harassment, Protection of women, University compliance, Rules and Regulations, POSH ACT, Higher Education in India

LEGAL FRAMEWORK IN THE UNIVERSITIES

Under the Universities Grants Commissions (UGC) guidelines, Workplace means the campus of Higher Educational Institution including any department, establishment, office etc funded by and the HEI, or any sports institute, stadium etc used for activities related to the HEI. It also includes any place visited by an employee or student during the course of their employment or study including transportation provided by the Executive Authority. The  definition of “workplace” just like the definition of “Employee” is quite broad. Whoever the complaint is filed against, it needs to be ensured that the institution is their workplace (in case of students, their respective universities, colleges or institutions can be considered as their workplace, unless it’s a third-party harassment.

As the term “workplace” is inclusive of universities, universities are also required to implement the POSH guidelines. The universities must publicly commit to zero-tolerance towards sexual harassment. The protection under these guidelines must be available to all women working in the university- including students, interns, research scholars, and staff. The universities are bound by the guidelines which the Supreme Court formulated in the judgement of Vishakha and Others v. State of Rajasthan (1997). These guidelines are also known as Vishakha guidelines. The court, while passing the judgement, defined sexual harassment as “an unwanted and unwelcome act with sexual undertone”. 

Considering the Vishakha guidelines for workplace, the University Grants Commission came up with the University Grants Commission (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal of Sexual Harassment of Women Employees and Students in Higher Education Institutions (HEI)) Regulations, 2015 to deal with the problem of sexual harassment in Higher Education Institutions. These regulations aimed to prevent, prohibit, and redress such instances. The objectives of these regulations were to spread awareness, empowerment, and a sense of protection amongst the employees and students in the universities.

While the POSH act, 2013 explains the term “Workplace” in a general sense, while the Section 2(c) of the UGC regulations exclusively defines “campus” as location/land on of the HEI, institutional facilities like libraries, labs, toilets, etc., hostels, stadiums, parking areas, etc., other amenities like health centres, canteens, Bank counters, etc., extended campus and areas within its scope including places visited by a student for educational or related activities; transportation provided for the purpose of commuting to and from the institution, the locations outside the institution during field trips, internships, study tours etc.  

INSTITUTIONAL OBLIGATIONS UNDER THE POSH ACT  

The responsibilities of the higher educational institutions to prevent sexual harassment and provide redressal are given in the University Grants Commission (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal of Sexual Harassment of Women Employees and Students in Higher Education Institutions (HEI)) Regulations, 2015. HEI’s are required to constitute an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) mandatorily. The ICC must include an external member who is experienced in sexual harassment cases. The meetings of the ICC should be regularly with an quasi-judicial functioning. The universities are also required to send annual reports to the District Magistrate to assess the functioning of these committees. The annual report has to contain the details of the number of cases filed and their disposal. The Regulations also provide for awareness sessions on gender sensitization and what constitutes sexual harassment. The university should prominently display in their prospectus and notice boards around the campus the consequences of sexual harassment. The students should be made aware of the remedies available to them in case of an incident. Apart from the responsibilities, the guidelines also mention the supportive measures. Supportive measures include counselling services through qualified counsellors, adequate lighting in the campus to enhance safety, well-trained and adequate security personnels which include women and construction of women hostels.

The composition of Internal Complaints Commission (ICC) has been made with keeping autonomy and experience of the members in mind. The presiding officer shall be a women employed at a senior level, for instance an Associate Professor. Two faculty members and two non-teaching members with adequate experience in dealing with sexual harassment cases and social work are to be nominated. One external member from an non-governmental organization or associations to also be nominated. Half of the members of this committee should be female. Senior- level administrative office- holders such as Dean, Vice- Chancellors, Head of Departments, etc. are barred from being a member of the ICC to maintain its autonomous functioning.

IMPLEMENTATION STATUS IN INDIAN UNIVERSITIES

Although a large amount of statutes and guidelines exist in India to prevent and redress the sexual harassment cases in India but the studies conducted say otherwise. The results of these studies show poor compliance with the UGC guidelines. In a study conducted by a research group from Nirma University led by Asst. Professor Vikash Kumar Upadhyay on the implementation of the POSH Act in higher educational institutions in Gujarat, it is found that many universities are not complying with the UGC guidelines of POSH regulations. The students are not aware of the safeguards available to them. Multiple universities have not constituted an ICC yet. Regular awareness sessions on gender and sexual harassments are not being conducted. The number of complaints received by universities which have constituted an ICC are quite low. The universities are also failing to file annual reports. 

According to the study, only 3 cases were filed in the ICC in the year 2018-19 in the state of Gujarat. It shows that the awareness about the sexual harassment redressal amongst the student at universities is very low. This data should not be confused with decline in sexual harassment incidents in universities as almost 75% female students of college face sexual harassment by men.

Such disappointing results of the implementations of POSH act in the universities are due to a variety of reasons. Both the staff and the students face a lack of awareness about the procedures of the ICC. The procedures laid down require necessary training of the members of ICC in handling such sensitive cases. Although the UGC guidelines lay down rules for conducting awareness and training programmes, but these still remain “on-paper” and far from reality. The power hierarchy in university often becomes a barrier in communication. The students fear the professors which are a part of the ICC and hesitate to take their complaints to them. Often times, confidentiality is not strictly maintained by universities in such cases which makes both the parties being subjected to unwanted attention.

As of 2025, The University Grants Commission has issued fresh guidelines to all higher educational institutions to work on the proper implementation of the POSH guidelines to maintain safe and inclusive environment in the campuses. Failure to comply with the framework could result in heavy penalties and consequences for the institutions such as removal of recognition from UGC. 

INCIDENTS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN UNIVERSITIES

Despite the constant efforts of the government to ensure the compliance of the universities with POSH guidelines, brutal incidents of sexual harassment in campus environment are being reported regularly. Some of them are-:

South Asian University Assault case

On 13th of October 2025, a student of South Asian University, New Delhi, was found injured with her clothes torn after being assaulted by four people on campus. This case triggered widespread protests in the capital. The victim had been receiving threats through messages. After investigation by the authorities, the offenders were found to be the watchman and his three friends. The university has set up a committee to take the necessary step to punish the negligent office holders for this incident. The committee has suspended the warden.

South Calcutta Law College Gang-Rape Case

A 24 year-old first-year law student was sexually assaulted and tortured by the security guard, two students, and a non-teaching staff members in the college premises. The entire incident was recorded by the offenders and used to blackmail the victim. The trial of the case is set to begin on 26th of December, 2025. The victim seeks transfer to another college after the traumatic incident.

Bengaluru Engineering College Rape

A fourth-year student of BMS College Engineering, Bengaluru, was raped by her junior, a third-year student , in the college campus. The victim was dragged by the accused to the men’s washroom where the incident took place. The brutal crime pushed the victim into a state of trauma. Friends of the victim gave her the courage to report the incident to the police. 

STRATEGIC SECURITY ENHANCEMENTS

After the analysis of the status of the implementation of the POSH Act in India, it is evident that the execution of the law needs work. A few suggested reforms are-:

1. The proper training of the ICC members aimed at explaining the procedures to be followed by the committee and the procedure to be followed while handling such cases is necessary.
2. It should be made sure that students of the educational institutions are aware of the rights guaranteed to them in cases of sexual harassment. The students should be made aware of where they can approach the committee and assurance should be provided regarding the confidentiality of the matter.
3. There should be a prominent display of the institution’s commitment toward the policy of zero tolerance to the cases of sexual harassment. Strict punishment should be awarded to offenders to prevent such acts in future.
4. The matters reported by the ICC should be dealt in a timely, transparent and impartial manner while ensuring that the no person of authority is able to influence the matter.
5. It should be the duty of the institution to provide the victim of the sexual harassment with counselling services and all other means necessary to help them heal from the trauma and shock.

While these are some suggestive reforms, institutions should themselves step forward to introduce new measures to enhance security of the students on campus. 

CONCLUSION

To sum up, the current position of the implementation of POSH guidelines in higher education institutions is unsatisfactory. These guidelines prove to be of crucial nature as they concern themselves with the protection of students which would later shoulder the burden of development of the country. The authorities should prioritize the implementation of the guidelines or else it would prove disastrous for the nation if we continue witnessing the inhumane crimes that ruin the lives of capable students., especially women. To improve this situation, everyone has a role to play. The institutions and the authorities have to be more vigilant and active towards their sexual harassment policies. The students have to be aware of the rights and redressal available to them. The society has to stand together to condemn such crimes. In conclusion, the students are a fundamental asset to the country, it becomes a salient responsibility to protect them.