The #MeToo momentum is picking up. A day after the government accepted former minister of state for external affairs MJ Akbar's resignation, a Delhi court on Thursday took cognizance of defamation complaint filed by him against journalist Priya Ramani, who has accused him of sexual misconduct around 20 years ago.

Even as legal proceedings play out, the minister for women & child development, Maneka Gandhi, wrote to all recognised political parties and urged them to form an internal committee to tackle sexual harassment.

The entertainment and cinema world, which has probably seen the maximum number of reported cases, has also taken some progressive steps. The Producers Guild of India has appointed a new committee to deal with sexual harassment and has asked members to comply with the provisions of the Sexual Harassment Act of 2013.

On the recent developments, journalist Sandhya Menon said that it is very encouraging to see that companies are taking swift action.

“My only worry through this and I think a lot of us share that this is a knee-jerk reaction that might not last," Menon said.

The companies should act proactively, they should take cognizance of the fact that this happens and we have been keeping quiet about it for far too long, she said.

So I am hoping that it is not a knee-jerk reaction and this actually translates into firmer policy and also some level of legislative action," she added.

Disclosure:

All matters brought to Network18’s attention which are within the purview of the workplace have been forwarded to our Internal Committee for Prevention of Sexual Harassment at the workplace for appropriate action. The Internal Committee is independent and all recommendations made by it are followed through by Management action. Network18 Group has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to sexual harassment. The company complies fully with all legal provisions and seeks to ensure a speedy and effective Redressal on complaints.