Voice - The SASHA PoSHcast

The PoSH inquiry process can be mystifying and at times intimidating to HR, employees and even IC members. Why is this so? How do we go about de-mystifying it? How does the Internal Committee analyze evidence and investigate during an inquiry? We talk about these and much more in this two-parter with advocate, PoSH Consultant, workplace investigator and SASHA team member Sreevidya Varma. About Sreevidya: Legal Consultant and Social Research Expert equipped with solid research and interpersonal skills. Experienced and proficient in Providing Support Services Against Sexual Harassment for various organisations. - Legal Consultant, SASHA [Support Against Sexual Harassment]. SASHA is a NGO constituted for providing Support Services against Sexual Harassment at the Workplace. - Member of Karnataka Employers’ Association’s (KEA) Gender Sensitivity Committee. Been attending various National Workshops and conducting training programmes on Sexual Harassment as part of the consultancy. - Research Consultant, Independent Consultant on Gender and Development research working for Kudumbashree (Government of Kerala) and FEM S3 (Bangalore). Conducted research works on market based solutions for sustainable development, gender dimensions and network impacts of women's group social enterprises. You can know more about Sreevidya and her work here - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sreevidyavarma/ Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7pxdjGT_Wk

After the gender-specificity of the law, misuse of the law is a second theme that inspires much discussion and debate. This month's episode of Voice - The SASHA PoSHcast presents an eye-opening two-part conversation where I interview advocate, consultant, trainer and SASHA member Shweta Luthra on the prevalence and impact of false and malicious complaints of sexual harassment at the workplace, and how organizations can deal with them ensuring fairness and safety for all employees. About Shweta: Shweta Luthra is a lawyer enrolled with the Bar Council of Karnataka. She has a BA LLB (Hons.) from the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, and an MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Oxford. She is also pursuing a PhD at the University of Leicester, researching on the socio-legal aspects of fitness to stand trial of mentally disordered defendants in English and Indian courts. In affiliation with SASHA, Shweta has worked with nearly 50 organisations pan India, and currently provides support to over 20 organisations. Shweta covers an employee base of over 50,000 personnel for clients based in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi NCR, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Goa, Pune and Kochi, amongst others. Shweta has conducted over 350 sessions, to sensitise employees on the prevention of sexual harassment at the workplace; to train Internal Committees on how to conduct inquiries; and to assist leadership teams in conducting risk assessments and putting in place policies to prevent such occurrences. Shweta acts as an external member on Internal Committees across India, and has handled over 150 cases. You can know more about Shweta and her work here - www.linkedin.com/in/shweta-luthra-sasha/ Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5o_0BoTvWg

After the gender-specificity of the law, misuse of the law is a second theme that inspires much discussion and debate. This month's episode of Voice - The SASHA PoSHcast presents an eye-opening two-part conversation where I interview advocate, consultant, trainer and SASHA member Shweta Luthra on the prevalence and impact of false and malicious complaints of sexual harassment at the workplace, and how organizations can deal with them ensuring fairness and safety for all employees. About Shweta: Shweta Luthra is a lawyer enrolled with the Bar Council of Karnataka. She has a BA LLB (Hons.) from the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, and an MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Oxford. She is also pursuing a PhD at the University of Leicester, researching on the socio-legal aspects of fitness to stand trial of mentally disordered defendants in English and Indian courts. In affiliation with SASHA, Shweta has worked with nearly 50 organisations pan India, and currently provides support to over 20 organisations. Shweta covers an employee base of over 50,000 personnel for clients based in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi NCR, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Goa, Pune and Kochi, amongst others. Shweta has conducted over 350 sessions, to sensitise employees on the prevention of sexual harassment at the workplace; to train Internal Committees on how to conduct inquiries; and to assist leadership teams in conducting risk assessments and putting in place policies to prevent such occurrences. Shweta acts as an external member on Internal Committees across India, and has handled over 150 cases. You can know more about Shweta and her work here - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shweta-luthra-sasha/ Music: –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Living by PIKASONIC https://soundcloud.com/pika5onic Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: http://bit.ly/2DZIO9D Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/q9sUDpIXZYo ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Welcome to part two of our conversation gender, sexual harassment and the law with advocate, litigator, PoSH consultant and team SASHA member Sowmya Bhat. In Part One, we discussed topics ranging from why the law is gender specific, to equity and equality, and how gender sensitization initiatives can help workplaces. If you haven't already listened to part one, you can listen here - https://soundcloud.com/voice-poshcast/episode-2-gender-equity-and-the-law-part-one. In part two, discuss same-sex harassment, normalization of discrimination and what it will take to foster safe, inclusive and empathetic workplaces. Sowmya is one of the founding members at SASHA and describes herself as an Advocate professing socially conscious lawyering. She has been practicing Law in Bangalore since 1999. She has been involved in litigation, legal research and legal activism in matters of Gender & Family Law, Property Law, Succession & Inheritance Laws, and Rights of the urban poor and Marginalized communities. Sowmya also has long standing experience in legal awareness training and gender sensitization programs. and has been providing committed services under the laws relating to sexual harassment at the workplace as an external member, trainer and legal advisor. You can know more about Sowmya and her work here - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sowmya-bhat-a38822105/.

In this episode of Voice - The SASHA PoSHcast, we sit down with advocate, litigator, PoSH consultant and team SASHA member Sowmya Bhat to talk about gender, sexual harassment and the law. Sowmya is one of the founding members at SASHA and describes herself as an Advocate professing socially conscious lawyering. She has been practicing Law in Bangalore since 1999. She has been involved in litigation, legal research and legal activism in matters of Gender & Family Law, Property Law, Succession & Inheritance Laws, and Rights of the urban poor and Marginalized communities. Sowmya also has long standing experience in legal awareness training and gender sensitization programs. and has been providing committed services under the laws relating to sexual harassment at the workplace as an external member, trainer and legal advisor. You can know more about Sowmya and her work here - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sowmya-bhat-a38822105/. The conversation delved deep into the topic and covered many wide themes like gender identities, gender based harassment and violence, intersectionality and how organizations can be more inclusive. In fact, we went so deep, we made this interview a two parter! This episode is the first part of our discussion on gender, harassment and the law, where we discussed topics ranging from why the law is gender specific, to equity and equality, and how gender sensitization initiatives can help workplaces.

Chances are, that you have heard about the Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act of 2013 - you’ve either read about it in the news, or taken an awareness session or are part of the Internal Committee or POSH committee in your workplace. But do you know what all this act entails, where it comes from, and how it came to be an act here in India? Welcome to the very first episode of Voice - The SASHA PoSHcast! In this episode, we will be taking a deep dive into the law and also talking a bit about the concept of consent, the theory and practice of it and how it relates to sexual harassment.

Team SASHA is proud to announce Voice - The SASHA PoSHcast, your go-to podcast on topics related to the creation and maintenance of safe, respectful workplaces. About Us: SASHA provides Support against Sexual Harassment to various workplaces to ensure a safe, secure, friendly and respectful work-environment to all employees. SASHA assists workplaces in the effective implementation of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013. Visit us at www.sashaindia.com