3 July : With reports of a number of incidents of sexual harassment of domestic helps in the country, the government said it will bring such cases within the scope of a proposed law to prevent exploitation of women at workplaces.
Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath, replying to supplementaries in the Lok Sabha, said the legislation will also include Dalit women, who are brought from rural areas to work as domestic helps in the cities.
Noting that there were reports of incidents of sexual harassment and mental torture of domestic helps, Tirath said such trends would be contained and action taken against the culprits whenever such reports were received.
She said as per a Supreme Court order, the government intended to constitute Local Complaint Committees at district and block level under the proposed bill to deal with such complaints.
The proposed legislation would cover women working in both organised and unorganised sectors, she added.