Delhi govt proposes setting up 'Local Complaints Committee' to help those facing sexual harassment

New Delhi: The Delhi government has proposed setting up Local Complaints Committee (LCC) in every district of the national capital which the victims of sexual harassment at workplace denied justice by the Internal Complaints Committees (ICC) can approach. According to the proposal drafted by the Women and Child Development department, District Magistrates or Additional District Magistrates will be notified as District Officers (DOs) to exercise the powers and discharge functions under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013. The DO will constitute the LCC in his district and will further appoint a nodal officer in every ward, municipality to receive the complaints and forward it to the concerned Committee within a period of seven days. The DO will also monitor the timely submission of reports furnished by the local complaints committees and take measures as may be necessary for engaging NGOs in creating awareness about sexual harassment and the rights of women. [caption id=“attachment_2605380” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representative image only. Image courtesy: Twitter/@JimBeasleyCA[/caption] The members of the LCC will include a chairperson, to be nominated from among eminent women in the field of social work and committed to the cause of women. There will be one member from among the women working in municipality in the district, two members, of whom at least one shall be woman, to be nominated from among such NGOs or associations as are committed to the cause of women or a person familiar with the issues related to the protection of women from sexual harassment. Also, an officer dealing with women and child development in the district, shall be it ex-officio member. The chairperson and every member of the LCC will hold office for three years from the date of their appointment as may be specified by the DO. Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chairperson Swati Maliwal has expressed sadness over the fact that even after two years of the passage of the Act, the DOs and LCCs have not been notified in the city till date. She had written to Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung about it. “There has already been a considerable delay in this regard. It cannot be overemphasized that the Act virtually exists on paper and steps are yet to taken for its effective implementation,” she had said in her letter, adding, the Commission has been receiving a large number of complaints regarding sexual harassment at workplace. Under Section 5 and 6 of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, state is required to set up a LCC to investigate complaints related to sexual harassment from cases which cannot be dealt with by the ICC or where there is no ICC. PTI