I am being sexually harassed at work or college
Sexual comments, demands, touching, messages, image-sharing or punishment after rejection can require workplace or institutional action and may also involve criminal law. You can ask for safety measures without accepting forced mediation.
On this page
What this situation can include
- Sexual harassment can be physical, verbal, visual or digital: touching, sexual jokes, comments about a body, repeated date requests, pornography, showing or requesting sexual images, promises for compliance, threats after rejection, or creating a sexualised hostile environment.
- The person may be a manager, professor, co-worker, client, contractor, student, visitor or someone reached through work or study. Power over marks, attendance, references, shifts or pay can make apparent agreement unsafe or coerced.
- A single serious incident can require action; a person does not have to endure a repeated pattern before asking for help.
What this may mean
Under the POSH Act, a workplace can include locations visited during employment and employer-provided transport. The Act establishes Internal Committees and district Local Committees for specified situations.
Students and non-employees may need the institution's student grievance, safeguarding or disciplinary route rather than assuming every POSH mechanism applies identically. If the conduct may be an offence, police reporting remains a separate option.
The POSH complaint time limit is generally three months from the incident or last incident, with a possible further extension for recorded reasons. Seek advice promptly, but do not assume a delayed complaint has no route.
If safety may be urgent
- If the person may touch, trap, threaten or follow you, move to a staffed place, contact a trusted person or security, and call 112 for immediate danger.
- Ask in writing for a no-contact arrangement, change of supervisor or examiner, safe transport, schedule protection, leave or another proportionate interim measure. Keep a copy outside the institutional account.
- Do not attend a private ‘resolution’ meeting with the person. Ask who will attend, whether it is formal, what confidentiality rules apply and whether a support person can accompany you.
Possible next steps
Record incident and power context
Save messages and identify dates, places, witnesses, work or course connection, prior objections, changes to marks or shifts, and reports already made. Forward only what you are lawfully allowed to retain.
Find the correct receiving body
At a covered workplace, ask for Internal Committee details; a district Local Committee may be relevant where there are fewer than ten workers or the complaint is against the employer. Students should locate the institution's applicable grievance and safeguarding process.
State the protection you need
Request specific interim measures and protection from retaliation. If conduct may be criminal, ask about police reporting; SHe-Box can provide an official online workplace complaint route.
Consider the riskConciliation under POSH is only at the aggrieved woman's request, and monetary settlement cannot be its basis.
What may happen after seeking help or reporting
- A committee may assess jurisdiction and limitation, provide assistance to put the complaint in writing, consider requested interim measures and conduct an inquiry with an opportunity for both sides to respond.
- The employer or institution may act on findings under applicable law and service or disciplinary rules. Internal findings and criminal outcomes use different processes and standards.
- Confidentiality rules restrict publication of complaint and inquiry details under POSH, but they do not mean the institution may hide whether a lawful process exists.
Important limits and cautions
- POSH has defined coverage, procedure and time limits; a college student's route can differ from an employee's. Obtain institution-specific information.
- An adverse finding is not automatic merely because a complaint was made, but inability to prove a complaint does not by itself make it false or malicious.
- Avoid public posting of confidential inquiry material or identifying details before getting advice; preserve the originals privately.
Words a supporter can use
If a colleague or student discloses harassment
“I am sorry this happened. You did not cause it by working, studying or replying. What contact or retaliation are you worried about now? I can help save records, find the correct committee, accompany you to a meeting and ask for interim safety. I will not start a confrontation or gossip about it.”
What institutions must do
Prevent, receive and inquire lawfully
- Constitute and train the required committee, publish access information, assist a written complaint, consider interim measures and prevent retaliation.
- Do not force conciliation or treat monetary settlement as conciliation under POSH.
Keep education accessible
- Provide a known, independent route for students and workers, preserve records, protect attendance and assessment from retaliation, and coordinate child safeguarding where anyone affected is under 18.
Keep criminal reporting available
- Do not require completion of an internal inquiry before receiving information about a suspected cognizable offence.
Related issue guides
Sources and publication record
Reviewed and approved by the project team · Sources checked . Reviewed and approved by the project team against the official sources listed on this page. This is general information, not advice for an individual case.
- Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013India Code, Legislative Department
- SHe-Box workplace sexual-harassment complaint portalMinistry of Women and Child Development
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023India Code, Legislative Department
- Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023India Code, Legislative Department
- Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012India Code, Legislative Department
- Emergency Response Support System 112Ministry of Home Affairs
- Free legal services and National Legal Aid Helpline 15100National Legal Services Authority