PREVENTION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT -WORKING RULES FOR INTERNAL COMPLAINTS COMMITTEE

The Community Library Project (TCLP) is a trust established in 2017 with the mission and vision of establishing free community libraries all over Delhi and rest of India independently or in collaboration with other like-minded organisations. Currently, it runs four libraries in Khirki and South Extension in New Delhi, and Sikanderpur and the online library Duniya Sabki.

We at TCLP envision the creation and maintenance of a safe and welcoming space for all children and adults of the neighbourhoods where our libraries are created and to provide to our members a place where they can look forward to enrichment, recreation and rejuvenation of the mind. 

STATEMENT OF INTENT

TCLP and all its trustees, staff and volunteers are committed to work together to achieve this goal and ensure that all its members including children and adults have a conducive, ambient environment in each of our libraries, where the health and safety of its members is always paramount.

With the aim of achieving this goal, TCLP has adopted certain policy decisions which are binding on all members, staff and volunteers. Certain practices are adopted and adhered to and all staff and volunteers are apprised of these policies and practices, and expected to adhere to them. Accordingly, we aim to:

• Practise ‘ALL ARE WELCOME’ by guaranteeing free and open access to all members
• Establish and maintain a safe, welcoming and enabling space for underage and adult members, and staff and volunteers
• Establish and follow protocols to address concerns reported by members, staff and volunteers
• Ensure that facilities available to members are well-maintained
• Develop safety awareness, by appropriate training if necessary, amongst staff, volunteers and members. 
• Formulate and implement effective procedures for use in the event of fire and other emergencies.
• Investigate accidents and take steps to prevent a re-occurrence.

ADULT SEXUAL ABUSE AND HARASSMENT CONCERNS

All adult members, volunteers, resource persons, visitors and employees are covered by this policy. 

Sexual harassment is any direct or indirect physical contact and advances, a demand or request for sexual favours, sexually coloured remarks, showing pornography or any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature.

Sexual harassment can be one or more of the following acts, but is not limited to:

• Whistling, playing or singing suggestive songs
• Staring intently at another’s body, so as to make them uncomfortable
• Passing lewd remarks or commenting on another’s appearance or sexuality
• Stalking someone
• Unwelcome kissing, touching, hugging or brushing against someone’s body
• Invading someone’s personal space
• Making obscene telephone calls or sending obscene messages in texts, images, videos, e-mails, or on social media
• Cyber-stalking and harassment
• Making inappropriate gifts 
• Soliciting sexual services
• Exposing children or, against their will, adults, to pornographic films, pictures, poems or stories
• Exposing someone to sexist text or visuals that are demeaning to women and LGBTQI+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, and intersex) individuals. 
• Taking photographs or video recordings of private moments without consent
• Making sexual engagement a condition for evaluation, employment, promotion, etc.
• Creating hostile study or work environments through sexual advances

Any complaint of sexual harassment by any employees, adult members,visitors or volunteers within the library premises by any other member, staff or volunteer is to be responded to immediately by the safety officer or the person in charge at that time. The person in charge can in addition to taking a complaint, also  issue a warning to the perpetrator, and if necessary, take further action, such as asking the perpetrator to leave the premises or contacting the authorities.

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, mandates that any organisation with more than 10 employees must constitute an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC). Given that TCLP also works with a series of stakeholders besides its employees, including members and volunteers, it commits to constituting an Internal Complaints Committee to prevent the instances of sexual harassment of adults. It is important to note that TCLP’s ICC is a gender-neutral body set up to address complaints regardless of the complainant’s gender and sexual identity. 

The Internal Complaints Committee is made up of:

1. A presiding officer who is mandated by law to be a woman in a leadership role in the organisation on the premise that complainants would be more comfortable reporting instances of sexual harassment to a woman. The Presiding officer will be Director, Bhawna.  

2. An external member who is familiar with issues related to sexual harassment, ideally someone from an NGO that works across the areas of gender, sexuality and prevention of abuse, and will be RituParno. 

3. Employee member/s across any role in the organisation, being Simpy, Manisha, Mausam.

4. Leadership Council member, who could be a trustee or a steering committee member and is Arti.

5. Student Council member who is above the age of 18, and ideally the representative to the Leadership Council and is Amaan.

At least half of the ICC members shall be members who identify as women or non-binary. Given that TCLP has libraries across three locations, the TCLP ICC will include at least one member from each location. An adult member, volunteer or employee may choose to report sexual harassment to the Internal Complaints Committee. This is a confidential process and the identity of the complainant is not revealed to anyone outside the committee. 

PROCEDURES

Filing of Complaints 

1. The Contact details of ICC members must be prominently displayed at all TCLP libraries. Any individual who holds a TCLP contract or has dealings with TCLP as a volunteer, intern, member, or visiting resource person, can approach any member of the Internal Complaints Committee with a verbal or written complaint of sexual harassment against a member, volunteer, intern, employee,  or a third party.  
2. A meeting of the Internal Complaints Committee will be convened within three days of the receipt of a complaint, to discuss the substance of the complaint and draw up a time-bound schedule for the further process. 
3. In the event of all the members of the Internal Complaints Committee not being available for a meeting within the stipulated time limit, those present will be empowered to convene a meeting and take immediate decisions on the further process.    

Informal Process (Mediation) 

1. If judged appropriate, an informal process (discussion with both parties and mediation to resolve the issue) will be attempted within one week of receipt of the complaint.  
2. In cases where the alleged offender accepts part or all of the substance of the complaint in the course of the informal process, the Internal Complaints Committee may recommend appropriate disciplinary action.    
3. In cases where the informal process has been successful in resolving the grievance, the Internal Complaints Committee will close the case and submit a report to the Leadership Council recommending measures to prevent the recurrence of the situation that generated the complaint. 
4. In cases where the informal process reveals prima facie evidence of gross sexual misconduct, the Internal Complaints Committee may decide to institute a formal enquiry even if the complainant is satisfied with the informal process. 

Formal Process (Investigation) 

1. In cases where an informal approach is deemed inappropriate, or is tried and fails to resolve the issue, a formal investigation will be instituted within fifteen days of the receipt of the original complaint. The complainant and the alleged offender will be informed of the initiation of the formal process and asked to cooperate. If the initial complaint was made verbally, it will be taken in writing at this stage. 
2. The complainant will be asked to submit a written statement with details of the alleged incident(s) of harassment, with supporting evidence and/or names of persons who can provide corroboration. 
3. The alleged offender will be provided with a copy of the complaint and will be given the opportunity to submit their response in writing to the ICC within 7 days.  
4. The alleged offender will also be asked to submit documentary or other evidence in refutation of the complaint.  
5. In the course of investigating the complaint, the Internal Complaints Committee will conduct interviews with and cross-question the complainant, the alleged offender and any other individuals who can provide information in support of, or in refutation of, the complaint. The Committee may also examine documents, including confidential files and records pertinent to the case. 
6. The proceedings of the investigation and the deliberations of the Committee will be recorded both in writing and on tape.  
7. The complainant (or a person nominated by the complainant as an observer) will have the right to remain present during the depositions by the alleged offender and witnesses. Transcripts of the depositions may be made available in cases where the complainant chooses not to exercise the right to be present.  

Confidentiality and Protection

1. The Internal Complaints Committee will address complaints and carry out the investigation process in a manner that respects the confidentiality and privacy of complainants, alleged offenders and others who provide information or evidence in cases of sexual harassment.  
2. In exceptional situations where the law requires so, the Internal Complaints Committee may decide to set aside the commitment to confidentiality, such as in cases where legal proceedings are initiated and the organisation is required to disclose information, or in cases where disclosure is deemed necessary to protect the interests of others. In such cases, the Internal Complaints Committee must provide a written report with such rationale to the Leadership Council, before proceeding with the same.  
3. Under the terms of this policy, the organisation is committed to provide support and protection to complainants. Measures will also be taken to prevent further harassment or discriminatory treatment of complainants by supervisors or colleagues on account of having filed a complaint.  
4. If a complaint is brought against any ICC member, said member will be recused from the committee until the investigation is completed and a decision reached. 

Interim Reliefs

The Sexual Harassment Act empowers the ICC to recommend to the employer, at the request of the aggrieved employee, interim measures such as:

1. Transfer of the aggrieved person or the respondent to any other workplace
2. Granting leave to the aggrieved person up to a period of 3 months in addition to their statutory/ contractual leave entitlement; and 
3. Not having to report to a supervisor who is an alleged offender. Such duties may be transferred to other employees. 

Penalties

Sexual harassment will not be tolerated at TCLP. If an investigation of any allegation of sexual harassment shows that harassing behavior has taken place, the harasser will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal. The statute prescribes the following punishment that may be imposed for conducting an act of sexual harassment:

1. Disciplinary action including a written apology, warning, mandatory counseling and restorative actions. This applies to all members, volunteers, interns and employees. For employees, the action taken may also include withholding of promotion, pay increments, or termination of service. 
2. Deduction of compensation payable to the aggrieved from the wages of the respondent, if they are employees. Compensation payable shall be determined based on mental trauma, pain, suffering and emotional distress caused, loss of career opportunity due to the incident, medical expenses incurred by the victim for physical/psychiatric treatment, the income and status of the alleged perpetrator and feasibility of such payment in lump sum or in installments.