In view of the increasing number of female staff and students in the campus, CCET  Women’s Grievance Cell makes every effort to ensure that Transgender and female students feel at home  within our campus. The Cell resolves common problems of female staff and students and also takes up individual cases of sexual harassment, if any.

Objective:

The objective of the cell is to maintain congenial working environment for Transgender  and females employees and students of CCET in accordance with the guideline provided by the Supreme Court of India. To obtain this objective the Cell will:

• Deal with the cases/complaints of sexual harassment and any other type of harassment of transgender students, the female students, teaching and non-teaching women staff of the college.
• Shall process all the individual complaints and take suitable action thereon in the manner and mode as per the college norms.
• Ensure all the members of the cell will be
• Try to ensure aht if possible one member of the cell is with a legal background.
• Form/ review the guidelines / policy for redressal of the grievances as required from time to time, which may be it accordance with those issued by Supreme Court & Government Agencies.

The role of the Women’s Cell:

• To ensure that appropriate action is taken against the offender.
• To provide information regarding counseling & support services on our campus.
• To ensure that lectures of eminent personalities from NGOs, Civil Authority, Academicians and Expert working in the area are arranged from time to time.
• To ensure that victims and witness are not victimized or discriminated because of their complaints.
• To take proactive measures toward sensitization of the CCET, Bhilai Staff and Student community on gender issue so the CCET, Bhilai is an safe and excellent work place for all.
• To ensure that students, faculty and students, faculty and staff are provided with current and comprehensive materials on sexual harassment and assault.

How this Cell Functions?

Procedure to file /report a complaint:

• The complaint will have to be submitted in writing and signed by the complainant and addressed to the coordinator of the cell.
• The counselor will call the complainant for a personal meeting, usually within a week for the submission of the written complaint.

• The member of the cell will discuss the complaint. If the case falls outside the purview of the cell, the complainant will be informed about the same by the appropriate authority.
• If the case comes under the purview of the cell, an enquiry committee will be set up. Both the complainant and the alleged harasser will be interviewed, as will any individual who may be able to provide information. All information will be kept in Confidence. The committee will submit a report and recommend the nature of action to be taken at the earliest by the appropriate authority.

The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2019

The NALSA case judgement led to the recognition of transgender people as the ‘third gender’ by the Supreme Court of India, affirming that the fundamental rights granted under the Constitution of India will be equally applicable to them, and gave them the right to self-identification, and to legally recognize persons who fall outside the male/female gender binary, including persons who identify as “third gender”.The Transgender Persons Act has been brought into effect by the Indian Government on January 10, 2020. It forms the backbone of the CCET’s policy of protection of Transgenders.

According to this Act, all educational institutes should adapt policies and administrative regulations that prohibit harassment of gender non-conforming students, and address, appropriate accommodation, toilets. They should also  establish consequences for those who harass or discriminate against such students, that sets a tone that allows TG  students to feel safe to report harassment. Anyone who harms  or  injures  or  endangers  the  life,  safety,  health  or  well being,  whether  mental  orphysical, of a transgender person, or tends to do acts including causing physical abuse, sexual  abuse, verbal  and  emotional  abuse  and  economic  abuse, of a TG person, shall  be  punishable  with imprisonment  for  a   term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to two  years and with fine.

To Work without Harassment is everyone’s Fundamental Right.

On 13^th August 1997, the Supreme Court of India held that sexual harassment of women is violation of the fundamentals rights of women to work in a safe environment. The Supreme Court guidelines define sexual harassment to include:

• Physical contact and advances.
• Demand or request for sexual favors
• Sexually coloured remarks.
• Display of pornography
• Any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature.

Often such behavior goes unpunished mostly because of hesitation on the part of women to report such behavior out of shame or fear or both. It is important for women to protest against any behavior that they feel is unwanted and unacceptable. The Women’s Cell of CCET Bhilai has been set up with the aim of providing women a platform to complain and find justice and redressal.

CCET PUBLICISES:

If you are being harassed, this is what you can do:

• Don’t feel a sense of shame. Tell the harasser very clearly that you find his behavior offensive.
• Don’t ignore the harassment in the hope that it will stop on its own. Come forward and complain.
• Talk to someone you trust about the harassment. It will not only give you strength but also help others in similar situation to come forward and complain.
• If the complainant feels that she cannot disclose her identity for any reason, the complainant shall address the complaint to the EVC/Principal and ensure it reaches him/her by Courier.
• The EVC/Principal shall retain the original complaint with him/her and send it to the Women’s Cell for further enquiry.
• Keep a record of all incidents of sexual harassment in a notebook. If you feel the need to register a formal complain later, this record will be helpful.
• It shall be the duty of the Women Cell before whom an oral complaint is made under this Act to produce the said complaint in writing and ready out the complaint to the complainant in the language requested by the complainant and obtain the signature of the complainant.

It shall be the duty of all the persons and authority designated under this Act to ensure that all complaints lodge under this chapter shall be strictly confidential. The name of the aggrieved Person/ Women shall not be referred to in any records of proceeding, or any orders or judgment given under this Act. The name of neither the aggrieved person/women nor her identity shall be revealed by the press/ media or any other persons whilst reporting any proceedings, case, order or Judgment under this Act.

After it has been proven that the offender has indulged in sexual harassment in the work place , an appropriate punitive action would be taken against him irrespective of his status in the institute (staff, faculty, student/s. Where such conduct amounts to specified offence under the Indian Penal Code or under any other law, a complaint will be made to the authority and appropriate / action in accordance with the law can be taken.