New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS): Amid rising violence against females in India, the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) has launched a new Sexual Harassment electronic Box (SHe-Box) portal that will help create a safer and more inclusive workplace for women.

The SHe-Box portal is a centralised platform providing access to all women to register and monitor their sexual harassment complaints.

It “serves as a centralised repository of information related to Internal Committees (ICs) and Local Committees (LCs) formed across the country, encompassing both the government and private sectors,” the WCD ministry said.

All women facing sexual harassment in the workplace, irrespective of being in organised or unorganised, private or public sector, can register a complaint and track it using the portal. Once registered, the complaint will be directly sent to the concerned authority.

The portal also provides “assured redressal of complaints and streamlined process” and via a designated nodal officer it will also enable real-time monitoring of complaints.

WCD Minister Annapurna Devi called the initiative “a critical step forward in providing a more efficient and secure platform for addressing workplace-related sexual harassment complaints”.

The new SHe-Box portal is based on the 2013 Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, which serves to protect women from sexual harassment in the workplace and address their grievances.

Importantly, with the portal complaints can be safely registered without personal information being publicly accessible, Devi said.

The new portal comes as the government, in the run-up towards “Viksit Bharat” by 2047, places significant emphasis on women-led development.

It has recognised the pivotal role of women's leadership in driving inclusive economic growth.

The portal “furthers the government’s commitment to creating a safer and more inclusive working environment for women” across the nation, Devi said.