#MeToo: WCD Ministry to set up legal committee

The Women and Child Development Ministry (WCD) on Friday said that it will set up a legal committee in the wake of the #MeToo campaign, where multiple sexual harassment cases from the media and entertainment industry have come to light.

"The Ministry will be setting up a committee of senior judicial and legal persons as members to examine all issues emanating from the #MeToo India movement," it said in a statement.

The committee will look into the legal and institutional framework which is in place for handling complaints of sexual harassment at work and will advise the Ministry on how to strengthen this framework.

"I believe in the pain and trauma behind every single complaint. Cases of sexual harassment at work must be dealt with a policy of zero tolerance," said Union WCD Minister Maneka Gandhi.

According to a WCD official, the committee will go into the legal and institutional framework and not based on individual complaints.

"Public hearing doesn't mean hearing of individual complaints. It means any stakeholders can come and depose before the committee if they want to," the official added.

The formal order regarding the constitution of the committee will be disclosed in a few days. - IANS