This week, there have been a spate of allegations mushrooming on social media platforms about women having faced sexual harassment.

There was a post by a woman, who described her experience at a concert where someone ejaculated on her after groping her rear. There have even been allegations against a famous stand-up comedian that created a furore, forcing him to issue clarifications. The allegations were reportedly withdrawn later, and the post was deleted from the social media site. The anonymous woman admitted to putting it up for ‘fun’. Then there is the infamous case of a CEO of a web media company being alleged of sexual harassment by his ex-colleagues. It started with one woman posting a blog anonymously, and soon other instances of sexual harassment began pouring in from other victims.

The question I am asked frequently is, how does one identify the genuine allegations out of these. My answer always is, it’s not our job but the court’s.

True or false?

There is a judicial system to verify these things. We should not be quick to pass judgements about social media posts with such allegations, particularly those that are not backed by a serious complaint to the authorities. The oft cited argument that it is difficult for a woman to lodge a complaint can’t be further from the truth. The flurry of false allegations of molestation, rape, and sexual harassment that are registered, stand testimony. There are frequent judgements that have berated the increasing impunity with which women are filing false cases of sexual abuse against men.

Make it official

It is easy for a woman to file a complaint with the concept of Zero FIR, under which the woman gets all advantage over jurisdiction and protection of identity, including getting a female officer to visit her premises to record the statement. Beyond this, police departments are currently available on social media itself. Most of them have websites and email ids where communication can be carried out. The affected women only have to copy-paste the same content that they put on social media on to the official pages or email ids. Women who don’t even do this much could run the risk of being seen as having mala fide intentions. People should also refrain from propagating posts that lack even a formal complaint.

A skewed law

The tragic part of the sexual harassment law is that men cannot file a sexual harassment case against female colleagues. This, despite having surveys and studies that report “men are as vulnerable to sexual harassment as women” and the law being gender neutral in 77 countries. As per one ET-Synovate survey from 2012, more than 38 per cent men in India faced sexual harassment by female superiors.

More harm than good

Men are obviously worried about false allegations being levied against them due to the prevailing circumstances. We have a case where a woman was awarded Rs 50,000 per month from a male colleague’s salary for 60 months. The penalty was based upon a sexual harassment complaint wherein the man commented on the colour of nail paint the female was wearing. In another case, a 78-year-old senior citizen spent six months in jail when his three-week-old maid allegedly accused him of sexual harassment. She later admitted to having filed the complaint at the behest of his neighbour who was in a property dispute with the old man. Most offices are under surveillance, but many times unscrupulous accusers make use of blind spots where cameras might not be present, such as the corridors, informal smoking zones, parking areas, etc.

If a woman is unable to substantiate her allegations, it is not enough to consider that as a false case. The man has to show forged documents, which are highly unlikely to be present in cases where allegations are that ‘he touched my body’ or ‘said something a year ago’; or he has to prove there were malicious intentions. Proving malicious intentions is a near impossible task as the man has to prove the woman had no ‘reasonable and probable cause’ and ‘instituted the complaint without a just cause’. Such a situation of hostility and mistrust among sections of employees doesn’t augur well for India Inc. We need to ensure that while protecting women, we don’t become unreasonable with men.

The writer is the President of Vaastav Foundation, a group of men and women from Maharashtra fighting for the rights of men. Vaastav Foundation provides legal and moral support to men affected by false sexual abuse complaints filed by women.