Martha Farrell Foundation Launches Online Training Program to Spread Awareness about Sexual Harassment at Workplace

Martha Farrell Foundation’s online training programme on Understanding Sexual Harassment at the Workplace Act – its prevention and redressal has been especially designed for the working professional. In a crisp one hour module divided into three modules, the training programme simplifies the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prohibition, Prevention and Redressal) Act, 2013 for employees, employers and Internal Committee members. It is designed to help the participant identify behaviours that have been described as sexual harassment in the Act.

Martha Farrell Foundation - Online Training Programme

In India, the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013, has made the redress and prevention of sexual harassment within workplaces a central concern for all employers. It deems it the duty of the employer, as well as other responsible persons in work places or institutions to prevent or deter the commission of acts of sexual harassment. Noncompliance of the Act will lead to fines being levied and a revocation of operating licenses for repeat offences.

“Today, as large numbers of women are entering the workforce, sexual harassment at the workplace is one of the most talked about issues in the context of institutions and their internal systems and polices. It has been described as a conduct that is intimidating, coercive and bullying, and includes unwelcome sexually determined behaviour. And in the workplace, it is considered to be one of the most pervasive and offensive forms of subjugation and discrimination of women,” said Nandita Bhatt of Martha Farrell Foundation. 

“The online training programme helps companies in preparing their workforce in order to avoid sexual harassment at workforce,” Nandita added. 

About Martha Farrell

Martha has been recognised as an "everyday feminist | #IndianWomenInHistory", featured in the Feminism in India Magazine.

Martha Farrell was a passionate civil society leader, renowned and respected in India and around the world for her work on women's rights, gender equality and adult education. She was among 14 people killed in a terrorist attack on a guest house in Kabul, Afghanistan on May 13, 2015. She had been leading a gender training workshop with the Aga Khan Foundation in Kabul at the time of the attack.

She began her career in 1981 as a literacy worker at Ankur, an NGO working for women’s literacy and empowerment in Delhi. She broadened her focus into adult education, where she began her lifelong practice of participatory learning methodology. In 1991, she co-founded Creative Learning for Change, an NGO consisting of development professionals involved in research, training and documentation of learning materials for students, teachers and facilitators in non-formal settings. She remained connected to this initiative throughout her career.