NEW DELHI: The government has launched the SHe-Box portal, a centralized system aimed at addressing and monitoring workplace sexual harassment complaints. The platform became operational after onboarding the maximum number of central ministries and departments.Developed by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, the SHe-Box portal serves as a public repository of information regarding Internal Committees (ICs) and Local Committees (LCs) formed in workplaces across the country, both in the government and private sectors. It is also an integrated complaint registration and monitoring system.The portal requires each workplace to designate a nodal officer responsible for regularly updating data to enable real-time monitoring of complaints.Since its launch on October 19, the online system has received nine complaints, the Union Minister of State for Women and Child Development Minister Savitri Thakur told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.According to the minister, any aggrieved woman or another person on her behalf can file a complaint through the portal. To maintain confidentiality, the portal masks the details of the complainant. If an aggrieved woman files the complaint herself, she must log in and register basic details, including her work status, name, phone number, and email address. If another person files the complaint, they must log in and provide their name, relationship with the complainant, an undertaking from the complainant, and the same basic details about the aggrieved woman.The complainant must select the IC or LC of the workplace where the complaint is to be submitted. If the workplace’s internal committees and local committees is registered on the portal, the complaint is automatically forwarded to the relevant body. If the workplace’s IC is not registered, the portal facilitates an online process to gather details about the workplace from the complainant. It also notifies the state and district nodal officers to expedite the registration of the workplace’s IC.The portal features a monitoring dashboard for nodal officers at central, state, and district levels, allowing them to track the number of cases filed, resolved, and pending. Complainants can also track the status of their complaints. Additionally, the portal enables the generation of detailed reports for supervisory authorities across ministries, departments, states, Union Territories, private sectors, and districts to ensure timely resolution of cases.All complaints filed through the SHe-Box portal are directed to the relevant IC or LC. The details and nature of the complaints remain confidential, and accessible only to the Chairperson of the IC or LC.The SHe-Box portal complies with the provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013. This Act mandates that inquiries into complaints be completed within 90 days and requires the government to monitor its implementation and maintain data on cases filed and resolved.The SHe-Box portal represents a significant step forward in ensuring safer workplaces and providing aggrieved women with a reliable mechanism for addressing their grievances.
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