In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(a) ”aggrieved woman” means in relation to work place, a woman of any age whether employed or not, who alleges to have been subjected to any act of sexual harassment by the respondent;
(b) ‘Act’ means the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (14 of 2013);
(c) “campus” means the location or the land on which a Higher Educational Institution and its related institutional facilities like libraries, laboratories, lecture halls, residences, halls, toilets, student centres, hostels, dining halls, stadiums, parking areas, parks-like settings and other amenities like health centres, canteens, Bank counters, etc., are situated and also includes extended campus and covers within its scope places visited as a student of the HEI including transportation provided for the purpose of commuting to and from the institution, the locations outside the institution on field trips, internships, study tours, excursions, 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 the HEI;
¹Hkkx IIIµ[k.M 4º Hkkjr dk jkti=k % vlk/kj.k 11
(d) Commission” means the University Grants Commission established under section 4 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 (3 of 1956);
(e) “covered individuals” are persons who have engaged in protected activity such as filing a sexual harassment charge, or who are closely associated with an individual who has engaged in protected activity and such person can be an employee or a fellow student or guardian of the offended person;
(f) “employee” means a person as defined in the Act and also includes, for the purposes of these Regulations trainee, apprentice (or called by any other name), interns, volunteers, teacher assistants, research assistants, whether employed or not, including those involved in field studies, projects, short-visits and camps;
(g) “Executive Authority” means the chief executive authority of the HEI, by whatever name called, in which the general administration of the HEI is vested. For public funded institutions the Executive Authority means the Disciplinary Authority as indicated in Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965 or its equivalent rules;
(h) “Higher Educational Institution” (HEI) means a university within the meaning of clause ( j) of section 2, a college within the meaning of clause(b) of sub-section (1) of section 12A and an institution deemed to be a University under section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 (3 of 1956);
(i) “Internal Complaints Committee” (ICC) means Internal Complaints Committee to be constituted by an HEI under sub regulation (1) of regulation 4 of these regulations. Any existing body already functioning with the same objective (like the Gender Sensitization Committee Against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH)) should be reconstituted as the ICC;
Provided that in the latter case the HEI shall ensure that the constitution of such a Body is as required for ICC under these regulations. Provided further that such a Body shall be bound by the provisions of these regulations;
(j) “protected activity” includes reasonable opposition to a practice believed to violate sexual harassment laws on behalf of oneself or others such as participation in sexual harassment proceedings, cooperating with an internal investigation or alleged sexual harassment practices or acting as a witness in an investigation by an outside agency or in litigation;
(k) “sexual harassment” means-
(i) “An unwanted conduct with sexual undertones if it occurs or which is persistent and which demeans, 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;-
(a) any unwelcome physical, verbal or non verbal conduct of sexual nature;
(b) demand or request for sexual favours;
(c) making sexually coloured remarks
(d) physical contact and advances; or
(e) showing pornography”
(ii) 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-
(a) implied or explicit promise of preferential treatment as quid pro quo for sexual favours;
(b) implied or explicit threat of detrimental treatment in the conduct of work;
(c) implied or explicit threat about the present or future status of the person concerned;
(d) creating an intimidating offensive or hostile learning environment;
(e) humiliating treatment likely to affect the health, safety dignity or physical integrity of the person concerned;
12 THE GAZETTE OF INDIA : EXTRAORDINARY [PART III—SEC. 4]
(l) “student” means a person duly admitted and pursuing a programme of study either through regular mode or distance mode, including short-term training programmes in a HEI;
Provided that a student who is in the process of taking admission in HEIs campus, although not yet admitted, shall be treated, for the purposes of these regulations, as a student of that HEI, where any incident of sexual harassment takes place against such student;
Provided that a student who is a participant in any of the activities in a HEI other than the HEI where such student is enrolled shall be treated, for the purposes of these regulations, as a student of that HEI where any incident of sexual harassment takes place against such student;
(m) “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 HEI, but a visitor to the HEI in some other capacity or for some other purpose orreason;
(n) “victimisation” means any unfavourable treatment meted out to a person with an implicit or explicit intention to obtain sexual favour;
(o) “workplace” means the campus of a HEI including-
(a) Any department, organisation, undertaking, establishment, enterprise, institution, office, branch or unit which is established, owned, controlled or wholly or substantially financed by funds provided directly or indirectly by the appropriate HEIs;
(b) Any sports institute, stadium, sports complex or competition or games venue, whether residential or not used for training, sports or other activities relating thereof in HEIs;
(c) Any place visited by the employee or student arising out of or during the course of employment or study including transportation provided by the Executive Authority for undertaking such journey for study in HEIs.’
3. Responsibilities of the Higher Educational Institution- (1) Every HEI shall,-
(a) Wherever required, appropriately subsume the spirit of the above definitions in its policy and regulations on prevention and prohibition of sexual harassment against the employees and the students, and modify its ordinances and rules in consonance with the requirements of the Regulations;
(b) publicly notify the provisions against sexual harassment and ensuretheir wide dissemination;
(c) organise training programmes or as the case may be, workshops for the officers, functionaries, faculty and students, as indicated in the SAKSHAM Report (Measures for Ensuring the Safety of Women and Programmes for Gender Sensitization on Campuses) of the Commission, to sensitize them and ensure knowledge and awareness of the rights, entitlements and responsibilities enshrined in the Act and under these regulations;
(d) act decisively against all gender based violence perpetrated against employees and students of all sexes recognising that primarily women employees and students and some male students and students of the third gender are vulnerable to many forms of sexual harassment and humiliation and exploitation;
(e) publicly commit itself to a zero tolerance policy towards sexual harassment;
(f) reinforce its commitment to creating its campus free from discrimination, harassment, retaliation or sexual assault at all levels;
(g) create awareness about what constitutes sexual harassment including hostile environment harassment and quid pro quo harassment;
(h) include in its prospectus and display prominently at conspicuous places or Notice Boards the penalty and consequences of sexual harassment and make all sections of the institutional community aware of the information on the mechanism put in place for redressal of complaints pertaining to sexual ¹Hkkx IIIµ[k.M 4º Hkkjr dk jkti=k % vlk/kj.k 13 harassment, contact details of members of Internal Complaints Committee , complaints procedure and so on. Any existing body already functioning with the same objective (like the Gender Sensitization Committee Against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH)) should be reconstituted as the ICC;
Provided that in the latter case the HEI shall ensure that the constitution of such a Body is as required for ICC under these regulations. Provided further that such a Body shall be bound by the provisions of these regulations;
(i) inform employees and students of the recourse available to them if they are victims of sexual harassment;
(j) organise regular orientation or training programmes for the members of the ICC to deal with complaints, steer the process of settlement or conciliation, etc., with sensitivity;
(k) proactively move to curb all forms of harassment of employees and students whether it is from those in a dominant power or hierarchical relationship within HEIs or owing to intimate partner violence or from peers or from elements outside of the geographical limits of the HEI;
(l) be responsible to bring those guilty of sexual harassment against its employees and students to book and initiate all proceedings as required by law and also put in place mechanisms and redressal systems like the ICC to curb and prevent sexual harassment on its campus;
(m) treat sexual harassment as a misconduct under service rules and initiate action for misconduct if the perpetrator is an employee;
(n) treat sexual harassment as a violation of the disciplinary rules (leading up to rustication and expulsion) if the perpetrator is a student;
(o) ensure compliance with the provisions of these regulations, including appointment of ICC, within a period of sixty days from the date of publication of these regulations;
(p) monitor the timely submission of reports by the ICC;
(q) prepare an annual status report with details on the number of cases filed and their disposal and submit the same to the Commission.