[3] This statute superseded the Vishaka Guidelines for Prevention Of Sexual Harassment (POSH) introduced by the Supreme Court (SC) of India.
[8] A report by the Indian Express in May 2023 finds that half of India's sports federations are yet to create an "Internal Complaints Committee" as mandated by this law.
[10] According to the Press Information Bureau of the Government of India: The Act will ensure that women are protected against sexual harassment at all the work places, be it in public or private.
[14] However, the legislative void continued and the Supreme Court in Apparel Export Promotion Council v. A.K Chopra ((1999) 1 SCC 759) reiterated the law laid down in the Vishakha Judgment.
Dr. Medha Kotwal of Aalochana (an NGO) highlighted a number of individual cases of sexual harassment stating that the Vishakha Guidelines were not being effectively implemented.
Converting the letter into a writ petition, the Supreme Court took cognizance and undertook monitoring of implementation of the Vishakha Guidelines across the country.
[14] The legislative progress of the Act was a long process where the Bill was first introduced by women and child development minister Krishna Tirath in 2007 and approved by the Union Cabinet in January 2010.
[23] Brinda Karat, serving in the Rajya Sabha as a Communist Party of India (Marxist) member for West Bengal, initially complained that the Bill does not cover women in the armed forces and excludes women agricultural workers, "a gross injustice to agricultural workers who are the single largest female component of work force in the country.
"[12][25] Zakia Soman, a women's rights campaigner at ActionAid India said that "it helps to have a law and we welcome it, but the crux will lie in its implementation once it is enacted.
"[26] Manoj Mitta of The Times of India complained that Bill does not protect men, saying it "is based on the premise that only female employees needed to be safeguarded.
"[27] Nishith Desai Associates, a law group, wrote a detailed analysis that included concerns about the role of the employer in sexual harassment cases.
Furthermore, the law requires a third-party non-governmental organisation to be involved, which could make employers less comfortable in reporting grievances, due to confidentiality concerns.