News: NIFT asks 56 sexual harassment women complainants to leave

Diversity

NIFT asks 56 sexual harassment women complainants to leave

Women housekeepers who accused a male employee of sexual harassment were asked to leave, while the accused continues to work in the campus.
NIFT asks 56 sexual harassment women complainants to leave

Fifty six women housekeeping staffers at the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Hyderabad have been asked to leave. This action comes after the women complained about sexual harassment by one of the employees – while the accused, D Srinivas Reddy, continues to work in the campus.

Last year in October, the housekeeping staff’s supervisor Ratna had lodged a case against him for sexually harassing her and the housekeeping staff. 

According to the staff, Srinivas a stenographer at NIFT, allegedly abused the women using sexual expletives, used sexual connotations while speaking to them, and asked the women to sleep with him claiming his wife wasn’t home.

“This went on for a year during which two-three women staffers quit their jobs, unable to bear the harassment. When we finally decided to file a harassment case against Srinivas, he started threatening our contractor to restrain us from filing the complaint,” says Ratna.

The women first approached a few authorities inside the campus and informed them about Srinivas’s misconduct with the staff. Receiving no response from the higher-ups, the women decided to file a police complaint, while Srinivas Reddy continuously threatened the women and the contractor.

According to the women, Srinivas Reddy wields a good amount of influence on the higher officials in the campus. With no support from NIFT authorities, the women filed a complaint against Srinivas Reddy at the Madhapur police station in October last year. 

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