ISSN 2319-829X Humanities and Social Science Studies, Vol. 13, Issue 1, No. 16, January – June: 2024 65 PREVENTION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT OF WOMEN AT THE WORKPLACE: HUMAN RESOURCE (HR) PERSPECTIVE Yukta Kotwal, Research Scholar, Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur (Raj.) Dr Rajeshwari Narendran, Former Professor and Head, Department of Business Administration, Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur (Raj.), Currently Director, NTPC School of Business, Noida (UP) Abstract Article 14 of the Indian Constitution guarantees everyone's equality under the law and states that "fairness of status and opportunity" shall be provided for all citizens. The Sexual Harassment at Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) act of 2013 was created to ensure that women have safe places to work and to create inclusive environments that value women's right to an equal distribution of opportunities and status. In this sense, a protected workplace is a woman's legal right. In addition, deeply ingrained socio-cultural norms of behaviour that create a hierarchy based on sexual orientation will typically place responsibility on the individual in question, exacerbating inequality in the workplace and among the public. The present paper aims to find out the core role of human resource department in prevention of sexual harassment of women at workplace. For the purpose of this research, interviews were taken of human resource managers of various private and public organizations. The finding of the research shed the light on the role of human resource manager. It indicates that human resource managers are responsible for the awareness about POSH in the organization. Keywords: Sexual Harassment, Human Resource Management, Women at Workplace, HR Introduction As per the Constitution of India, “equality of status and opportunity” must be secured for all its citizens; equality of every person under the law is guaranteed by Article 14 of the Constitution. A safe workplace is therefore a woman’s legal right. Indeed, the Constitutional doctrine of equality and personal liberty is contained in Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Indian Constitution. (Ministry of Women and Child Development, 2015) These provisions ensure an individual's right to life and personal liberty, equal treatment under the law, and non-discrimination. The equality of rights principle is violated by discrimination and threatens the dignity of women. The foundations of these thoughts are found in patriarchy and the ensuing belief that men are superior to women and that some types of violence against them are bearable. One of these is sexual harassment at the workplace, which is seen as irrelevant in its numerous manifestations. It is frequently justified as "natural" male conduct or "harmless flirtation" that women find enjoyable. In contrast to these beliefs, it is a clear example of gender-based discrimination in the workplace and causes significant harm. Loss of productivity and detrimental effects on lives and livelihoods result from this. To make matters worse, ingrained sociocultural behavioural patterns that establish a gender hierarchy also tend to blame the victim, which exacerbates inequality in the workplace and society at large. Even though sexual harassment at work has reached alarming proportions, many of the times victim do not complain about the incident to the appropriate authorities out of fear of retaliation from the harasser, losing their job, becoming stigmatised, or losing their reputation and professional standing. Sexual harassment in the workplace is becoming recognised as a violation of women's rights and a type of violence against them on a global scale. In fact, violence against women in both public and private settings is still justified by the societal construct of male privileges in society. The biggest obstacle to resolving and preventing sexual harassment is the patriarchal beliefs and attitudes held by both men and women. Like other types of violence, sexual harassment at work is not harmless, in reality, it has major negative effects on human health, welfare, the economy, and society at large, which are reflected in a country's overall development indices. The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 was enacted to ensure safe working spaces for women and to build enabling work environments that respect women’s right to equality of status and opportunity. The achievement of their rights to gender