Rape, sexual harassment allegations rock Greenpeace India
New Delhi: Environment rights NGO Greenpeace India could be in for more trouble as an ex-staffer has gone public with allegations of rape and sexual harassment by her colleagues.The organization's inaction against the perpetrators has
However, Aich defended the decision to dismantle the committee. "'We came to know that the committee decisions were leaked to many people in the office. So I sought legal opinion on this and I was told that since its leaked, the decision stands invalid. So we dissolved the committee and reconstituted it,"" said Aich.
When asked why they did not follow the committee's decision of terminating the offender, Aich said a strong warning was given to the person. "I have given a strong warning to the person and as a result, he has put in his papers. I admit that there have been flaws in our earlier system and we will tighten our disciplinary actions in future,"" he added.
Reacting to the allegations, programme director for Greenpeace India, Divya Raghunandan, told IANS that the former employees had raised some valid issues and that they will investigate it in a "serious manner". Acknowledging that there were flaws in the earlier system, Raghunandan said, "When we revisited the cases, we felt that it should have been handled in a better way."
Asserting that they were re-evaluating the overall procedures for handling complaints of sexual harassment, she said that the employee in question had resigned. "We have reconstituted the ICC and ordered an audit into the old cases. The implicated employee has put in his papers already," she said.
However, activists and former employees question the failure of the NGO in punishing a serial offender and protecting him for years.
Holding the executive director of Greenpeace India responsible for the shabby handling of the cases, Kavita Krishnan, Secretary of the All India Progressive Women's Association, said that the events had tarnished the image of the NGO. "Greenpeace failed to stand by their promise of punishing the offender.
They disbanded a committee, which recommended punishment for the molester. The NGO is muzzling voices of dissent. They have stretched the cases for so many years. The punishment has to be spelt out clearly," Krishnan said adding that they have written to Greenpeace International and were waiting for their response to act further.
Voicing similar concerns, Usha Saxena, a former employee, alleged that she was forced to quit Greenpeace because she took a stand against the rampant cases of harassment in the NGO. Saxena, who joined Greenpeace in 2009, said that her protests against sexist jokes and remarks fell on deaf ears.
"I filed a misconduct complaint against senior HR director for making discriminatory and threatening remarks about my gender, my age and ordering me to seek "psychological counselling". For that, I was bullied out in 2013," Saxena told IANS.
Another ex-staffer (name withheld) also said that she was harassed by the same person implicated in the first incident. She said she resigned in March 2015 after inaction by the NGO. "He made some objectionable comments in front of many senior colleagues, including the executive director. No one reacted, rather they were all amused. "Though she registered a complaint with the HR Department the next day, it met the same fate as the previous ones," she told IANS.
She also said she would take further legal action if the offender is not punished.