NEW DELHI: About 526 cases of sexual harassment of women at workplace were reported during 2014, the government said on Friday.
Of these, 57 cases were reported in office premises and 469 were registered at other places related to work, minister for women and child development Maneka Gandhi said.
She said the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 casts responsibility on the appropriate government to monitor its implementation and maintain data on the number of cases filed and disposed of and there was no centralized mechanism to collect such data.
For the first time, National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) this year collected data under insult to the modesty of women (Section 509 of IPC) at office premises and other places related to work, Maneka said.
The minister also said there was an increase in the number of sexual offences against children in the country. The number of cases of rape of children below 18 years had increased from 8,541 in 2012 to 12,363 in 2013 and 13,766 in 2014.
She also said the home ministry had proposed publishing the list of convicted persons for crime against women in the citizen portal of Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS). "However, this is subject to funding being restored for CCTNS," the minister added.
