Members of the press and media,

I wish to express my concern on th downplay of sexual harrassment issues brought about in the below artcile in times of India .


<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Lifestyle/Relationships/Work/Sex_in_the_boardroom/articleshow/msid-3210973,curpg-2.cms>

Dear Pallavi ,The article would make a good inclusion in the second release of theBook "Men are from mars, Women are from Venus ". The articleprojects the fact of sexual harassment of men at workplace in lighterand non-significant issue. The opinions of the people presented bringout the below ideas.·Men if sexual harassed by women always enjoy and the woman is lookedas an "Empowered woman " who is just having little harmless fun .InIndia where it is assumed that women are Gullible and innocent bybirth, this empowered women has now broken her shackles and just alittle naughty and nothing else.· If Men are the accused of Sexual harassment, immediately the entirestate and women NGO machinery starts mobilizing against him . Theissue is blown out of proportion since the man has now harassed anIndian women who has the tags "Gullible and Innocent" protecting herlike Karna's Armor protected him since birth. The woman comes out asa harassed victim who is the target for sympathy from the "Oh-so-concerned" NGO and Women Police who are now eyeing the level anddesignation of the accused. Please remember that the more seniorlevel the accused is in the organization the more the sympathies theNGO and the Police have for the "Gullible" victim. How many timeshave you heard the Women Police or a NGO speak out for a Femalerailway sweeper being sexually harassed?The next step is the extortion process: - Here is the ModusOperandi .1) Threat the accused in a police station of dire consequencesif he does not pay up. A better way is to send the police in fullmarch uniform into the company's boardroom and pick the accused rightout of an ongoing meeting . The accused is asked to pay up cash tothe NGO's , the Police and the sobbing and crying unscrupulous fakevictim .2) Oh I just forgot , for "Empowered Indian women " Indiareceiving extortion money is the one and only solution to all theirproblems from Dowry harassment to Sexual harassment .3) The victim normally pays up, the extortion booty is dividedby the "Oh-so-concerned" NGO's, The "Oh-so-efficient" women policeand off course the "Gullible and innocent" fake victim.4) All sins and shame are magically washed away the moment thecash moves to the hands the Extortionists and the Innocent girl moveson to find a new Sexual harasser and nail him.I also want to dissect the comments made by some of the proplehighlighted as a cross section of the society .Rita Gangwani:- Lieutenant Gagwani , I am sure if a woman would havefaced "Sexual Pestering " by my a Man , you would have termed it asharassment and exploitation , and would have cried hoarse till theaccused is arrested and defamed. Just since it is the other wayaround, you downplay it and call it "sexual pestering".In the same way sexual advances like flaunting , exercising powerwhen done by a woman is downplayed as it is termed "womanempowerment" , but the same when done by men is termed "sexualharassment" and exploitation .On your second statement , I have just one question . If a man wouldneed some "emotional backing" from his female secretary and wantsa "No-Strings" attached relationship , would you still have avoidedthe word Harrassment.Producer of the Sports Channel :- I do not know if this individual isa man or woman but either way , it does not seem that he knowsanything about gender equality . He says that Men win –win for him ,since he has 2 women and one at home and one at the office to flirtwith . Wrong Mr Producer, it is win-win only if it is a woman . Haveyou not heard the upcoming laws in the country of enabling anempowered woman committing adultery to be eligible for maintenancefrom both the husband( his crime is why he allowed adultery ) and themale partner ?On a lighter note , this guy must be identified and fired since I amvery suspicious that he is doing this himself . Can we please informhis/her wife or husband about this . If it is husband who I am sorryfor him .Pratish Aggrawal :- This guy wants to be harassed by a female .Thegrapevine says that Infosys has the highest number of 498A girls , soI would assume that you have a lot of senior female colleagues whoneed "emotional support" . Don't worry if you still have not beenharassed by a female boss , you will have receive your fare share ofharassment from your wife . Oh , and how would you like if you wifeor sister flirted with another man junior to her behind your back andthen demand maintenance from you . I am sure you would not be soJovial then . Anyways , fear not my friend , just wait and your shareof harassment is due very soon .Dr Sanjay Chugh :- If you think men gain after getting sexuallyharassed at work you are grossly mistaken . The "PAIN " that the mansuffers at the hands of the women harasser , his wife and the policeafter the "GAIN" is not worth it.ACP :- Dear Officer , you will retire and still not see a singlecase of a man complaining about a woman because that's not thedirection where our country is headed .If we create laws to punishunscrupulous women then how we call our women empowered .Anukul Raj( lawyer ) :- You are the one person in the entire articlewho calls a spade a spade . This person clearly says that there inspite of harassment there is no legal recourse for a victimized man,where as the woman might use the legal machinery to her ulteriormotives all the time.He sums it up with the ultimate truth , the sane thing I have sopainfully tried to elaborate in the last 2 pages of my reply ."In case a woman complains of a sexual assault, her word of mouth isconsidered as the proof and the onus of establishing that the convictis innocent is on the defense. However, if a male makes such acomplaint, the onus of proving the assault is on the prosecution."

Thanks,
Arnab