Internal Compliance Committee

The Internal Compliance Committee (ICC) was constituted in the Kaliyaganj College in the year of 2017 under the provisions of ‘The Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013’. The Committee intends to take care of complaints from women and solve the problems according to UGC guidelines and Supreme Court orders. The ICC in association with the NCC and NSS units gives awareness classes on sexual harassment and abuse, legal measures etc. Staff and students are given the freedom to report any such cases. Concerned authorities are notified if any such cases are reported.

Objectives:

To make the students and employees of the Higher Educational Institutions aware of their legal rights and protections available to them in an accessible language.

To empower them with the knowledge they need to reach out to the authorities whenever needed.

To enable students and employees to question if their campuses are safe and whether their educational institution is ICC compliant or not.

Higher Educational Institutions and its Executive Authorities to be aware of their duties and obligations under the legal frameworks provided to protect students and employees from sexual harassment at the workplace.

To spread awareness among its community of the information on the mechanism put in place for redressal of complaints pertaining to sexual harassment and everything around it.

What Constitutes Sexual Harassment:

Sexual harassment, in general, can be understood as an unwanted conduct with sexual undertones if it occurs or which is persistent and -

which demeans, humiliates or creates a hostile and intimidating environment

is calculated to induce submission by actual or threatened adverse consequences

Acts that can be considered as sexual harassment:

Sexual harassment includes one or all of the following unwelcome acts or behaviour, whether directly or by implication –-

Physical contact or advances

A demand or request for sexual favours

Making sexually coloured remarks

Showing pornography or asking if you want to see pornography

Any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature

Sexual Harassment at the Workplace:

Sexual Harassment at Workplace includes one or more of the following circumstances with explicit or implicit sexual undertones –

Implied or explicit promise of preferential treatment in her employment.

Implied or explicit threat of detrimental treatment in her employment.

Implied or explicit threat about her present or future employment status.

Interference with her work or creating an intimidating/ offensive/hostile work environment for her. Humiliating treatment likely to affect her health, safety or integrity.

Redressal Mechanism:

(i) Complaints can be lodged directly with any member of the committee. The person to whom the complaint is made should bring it to the notice of the committee within 2 working days of receiving it.

(ii) The complaint may be oral or in writing. If the complaint is oral, it shall be made in writing by the committee or the member who has received the complaint with the signature of the complainant.

(iii) A complaint should be lodged within six weeks of the incident. In extraordinary circumstances this could be extended to six months.

(iv)The committee shall study the complaint and may hear both the complainant and the accused and other involved parties to determine if an enquiry should be instituted. If so then an enquiry committee will be formed from the committee consisting of not less than 5 persons or not more than 7 persons. 50% of this committee will be women.

(v) The process shall be complainant friendly and quick in its decision regarding whether the matter needs to be enquired into or can be taken care of by counselling or mediation.

(vi) The complainant may withdraw his/her complaint in writing at any time during the enquiry procedure. In such cases the procedure shall be terminated. If the committee feels or has enough reason to believe that the withdrawal is the consequence or effect of cohesion/ intimidation/ threat exerted by the accused or any person on his/her behalf the enquiry proceedings shall continue.

(vii) The enquiry committee shall complete the enquiry in the shortest possible time not exceeding 1 month from the date of complaint.

(viii) The enquiry committee shall provide a reasonable opportunity to the complainant and the accused for presenting/ defending their case.

(ix) The enquiry committee shall then submit a detailed report to the main committee in which it shall communicate its findings based on its investigation.

(x) The main committee along with the enquiry committee will then forward its findings and recommendations to the management for further action.