Dignity Without Walls: Workplace Sexual Harassment Law in the Age of Digital Labour

Abstract

The digitization of work, the rise of remote work, and platform, mediated professional interactions have changed the spatial and relational boundaries of the workplace in a fundamental way. The legal framework of India regarding sexual harassment at the workplace, which is based on the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, has widened the concept of "workplace" from physical offices to various other places. However, when it comes to digital spaces, the practice of law is still disjointed, and there is less theoretical understanding of it. This research articulates the impact of changing work, modes such as remote work, virtual offices, gig platforms, and digitally, mediated professional networks on the assumptions underlying POSH compliance mechanisms. The study suggests that harassment in digital spaces may include the use of video conferencing platforms, instant messaging applications, emails, and algorithmic work interfaces which can cause risks to dignity, evidence, gathering, and redress that are not sufficiently addressed by the traditional policy frameworks.
The paper, through a doctrinal analysis of the POSH Act, the Vishaka guidelines, and relevant judicial developments, locates the degree to which the current law on harassment accommodates digital harassment and points out essential regulatory gaps. Further, it also considers the organisational practices and the international approaches to the problem of workplace harassment
in the digital domain to employer responsibility and platform accountability. Eventually, the research states that "workplace, " "employer, " and "course of work" would need to be reconceptualized if one wants to maintain the dignity of the workplace in digital arenas.