“Provisions for penalizing complainants must be removed as they tend to discourage reporting rather than support the victim,” said Jaising at the inaugural United Nations Public Lecture
New Delhi, 25 November 2013: Delivering the inaugural United Nations Public Lecture, Ms. Indira Jaising, Additional Solicitor-General of the Supreme Court of India, urged authorities to help survivors of sexual assault to navigate the criminal justice system.
Speaking in the presence of policy makers, representatives from the diplomatic community, civil society, students and media, Ms Jaising, the first woman to be appointed Additional Solicitor-General said, “The rates of judicial attrition continue to be high. The criminal justice system is not victim friendly and focuses on the rights of the accused alone. Much more can be done to guarantee the conviction of the accused in cases of sexual abuse. We need to ensure that the victim and her family are taken into confidence at every state of the decision-making process and in the sharing of information relating to the prosecution. We need to inspire confidence in the victim to continue with the proceedings.”
Speaking on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the public lecture by Ms. Jaising focused on progress to end violence against women. It comes almost a year after the brutal gang rape of a young woman in New Delhi. “While substantive changes were made in the Sexual Assault Law in March 2013, no corresponding changes were made to procedural laws, nor were any systems or institutions put in place to assist survivors of sexual assault.” said Ms. Jaising.
Ms. Jaising also urged for greater clarity in the filing of cases of sexual harassment at the workplace in the context of The Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace (Prevention Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013. “Provisions for penalizing complainants must be removed as they tend to discourage reporting rather than support the victim. Similarly, the provision for conciliation of a complaint of sexual harassment must be done away with if we want to achieve zero tolerance of sexual harassment at the workplace,” she said.
Lise Grande, United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative said, “Helping to end violence against women is a high priority for the United Nations in India.”
“The December attack was the tipping point that has brought attention to violence against women – not only in India but globally. Many progressive reforms and changes have resulted – for example the historic Justice Verma Committee, which informed the subsequent approval by Parliament of the Criminal Amendment Act 2013. But laws by themselves are not the solution – their implementation also matters, as does changing mindsets,” said Dr Rebecca Reichmann Tavares, Representative, UN Women’s Office for India, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka.
The UN Public Lecture commences as part of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign. The UN system is partnering with governments, civil society, young people, the media and the private sector to raise public awareness, and increase political will and resources to end violence against women and girls.
Key highlights from the UN Public Lecture with Indira Jaising, Additional Solicitor General, Supreme Court of India on ending violence against women.
Apex court sets up 10-member gender sensitisation panel
[Date: 27 November 2013, Source: The Indian Express]
Banks step up efforts to prevent sexual harassment at workplace
[Date: 27 November 2013, Source: The Economic Times, Author: Anita Bhoir]
Some judges have asked Chief Justices to remove female staff, says Jaising
[Date: 26 November 2013, Source: The Indian Express, Author: Aneesha Mathur]
Institutional failure in sexual harassment cases: Indira Jaising
[Date: 26 November 2013, Source: Business Standard]
Institutional failure in sexual harassment cases: Indira Jaising
[Date: 26 November 2013, Source: DNA]
Justice system not victim-friendly, laments Indira Jaising
[Date: 26 November 2013, Source: Deccan Herald]
Institutional failure in sexual harassment cases: Indira Jaising
[Date: 26 November 2013, Source: IANS]
Institutional failure in sexual harassment cases: Indira Jaising
[Date: 26 November 2013, Source: newsreporter.in]
The first woman to be designated as a Senior Advocate by the High Court of Bombay in 1986, Ms. Indira Jaising is also the first woman in India to be appointed Additional Solicitor General of India. She is a Member to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Expert Committee, the founder secretary of Lawyer’s Collective, and Director of Lawyer’s Collective Women’s Rights Initiative (LCWRI). From the beginning of her legal career, she has focused on the protection of human rights, rights of women and those of the poor working class. She was conferred with the Rotary Manav Seva Award in recognition of her services to the nation in fighting corruption and as a champion of the weaker sections of the society. She was given the Padma Shree by the President of India in 2005 for her service to the cause of public affairs.
What workplaces owe women
[Date: 28 November 2013, Source: The Indian Express]
The notification issued by the Supreme Court on November 26, 2013 does not address the issue raised by the young intern who has made a complaint that she was sexually harassed by a former judge. The 10 eminent members of the Gender Sensitisation and Internal Complaints Committee will have no jurisdiction to entertain complaints of sexual harassment against sitting judges or former judges.
Q&A: Indira Jaising, Additional Solicitor General
[Date: 20 November 2013, Source: Business Standard]
India’s first woman Additional Solicitor General, Indira Jaising, tells Akshat Kaushal what life is like in a men-only world.
Reconsidered: Dangerous Bill
[Date: 20 November 2013, Source: India Together]
According to the myth of the family as a sanctuary of tranquility and harmony, domestic violence is a veritable incongruity, a contradiction in terms. Violence shatters the peaceful image of the home, the safety that kinship provides. Nonetheless, the insidious nature of domestic violence has been documented across nations and cultures worldwide. It is a universal phenomenon.
She will be Protected
[Date: 15 November 2013, Source: Outlook]
On the 6th of April this year, the Supreme Court of India notified the Gender Sensitisation and Sexual Harassment of Women at the Supreme Court of India (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Regulations, 2013. No committee has been notified under these regulations to date. It is not clear to me under what powers these regulations have been framed. The regulations are not stated to be framed under Article 145 or 146 of the Constitution of India. The regulations are purported to be issued in writ petition (civil) No. 162 of 2013. Hence one can only conclude that the regulations are in the nature of a judgement of the Supreme Court of India.
Ten months later
[Date: 25 October 2013, Source: The Indian Express]
The protests following the December 16 Delhi gangrape drew attention to the long-standing failure of law enforcement agencies, including the police, prosecution and judiciary, to successfully tackle crimes against women. The conviction rate was less than 24 per cent and judicial attrition accounted for 76 per cent of the cases that resulted in acquittal. Institutional lapses were reflected in, among other things, the failure to record FIRs, botched investigations, unconscionable delays in the delivery of justice and the gross bias against women among all law enforcement agencies, including the judiciary. The question 10 months later is: has anything changed?