MUMBAI:About a year after the #Me-Too movement went viral with the Harvey Weinstein case, India has seen a similar upsurge as women have called to account men in the film, media and comedy industries for sexual assault and harassment.Amid this upheaval, companies say they have stepped up efforts to make workplaces safer for women in the past few years. Data from BSE 100 companies, which are required to furnish this information, show a 15% increase in the reports of sexual harassment complaints in FY18, based on an analysis of their annual reports by ComplyKaro Services.But another survey of 200 companies as well as BSE 100 data indicated that not all are necessarily proactive on this front. Some reported zero cases and more than half had less than three complaints.However, awareness of legislation on sexual harassment at the workplace appears to be rising with companies putting in place mechanisms to handle such cases, experts said. “Companies do not have a choice but to be aware and sensitise employees because the cost they pay otherwise will be heavy,” said Biocon managing director Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.“There is a huge awareness being built and in the recent past many companies have started bringing a lot of focus on sensitisation.” Biocon has a zero-tolerance policy on sexual harassment and has previously dismissed employees on such grounds, even before the movement started, she said.“The environment has changed; more women feel they can be open and report,” said Vinita Bali, former MD of Britannia Industries. “We have to be careful the movement does not become awave and die down… We have to hold companies and boards accountable for dealing with cases that are reported.More women coming out puts greater responsibility on those tasked with investigating to see action is taken.”“It is no longer a taboo to report,” said Richard Lobo, head of human resources at Infosys . “There is the much important trust that when someone complains, it will be addressed and resolved fairly.”As per ComplyKaro data collated for ET,Wipro, ICICI Bank , and Infosys had the maximum number of reported cases at 101, 99 and 77, respectively, in FY18.The two IT majors Wipro and Infosys also had the maximum reduction in number of reported cases with Wipro reporting 15 cases less than last year and Infosys 11less than FY17.ICICI Bank redressed all 99 cases during the year.Axis Bank had 47 reported cases, while HDFC Bank had 14.“Where companies have had a number of complaints over the years but also showed a declining trend, it would mean that awareness sessions are bearing fruit in terms of behavioural change in employees,” said Vishal Kedia, director, ComplyKaro, which specializes in prevention of sexual harassment (PoSH) compliance.Tech Mahindra, which reported 28 cases in FY18 from zero in previous two fiscals, saw maximum increase, likely due to exercises aimed at raising awareness. The company didn’t respond to queries.However, while there is more awareness on the subject, the number of cases not redressed has increased 28% to 82 in the past year, which shows that companies need to do more for prompt action.“One needs to talk about the effectiveness of the reporting and companies must ensure that there is action taken promptly,” said Bali.There is also a shift in quality of complaints, said Suresh Tripathi, vice president, HR management at Tata Steel. “Earlier, only when a woman was pushed to the wall she would come up to complain. However, with increasing belief in the system, people start understanding what is acceptable and what is not.” Tata Steel reported 24 cases in FY18, down from 26 a year ago, and redressed 16 cases during the fiscal.The survey by National HRD Network and KelpHR that assessed how effectively the sexual harassment law had been implemented by corporate India showed that 77% of organisations were compliant and felt it had helped in enhancing awareness among employees. The survey had responses from 200 HR and legal heads, internal committee officers and CXOs. The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act came into force in December 2013.The survey, however, showed 55% of organisations did not feel the law had made workplaces safer. “This can happen when the internal mechanism within the organisation is not effective even if the Act has percolated,” said Tripathi.KelpHR CEO Viji Hari said: “The focus should be on a strong company culture and an empowered internal committee that will help the victims to report the incidents confidently.” According to Complykaro data, several large companies didn’t report any sexual harassment cases as per their annual reports. In 58% of companies, the number of cases reported was less than three, according to the KelpHR survey. Experts said this could be due to fear of retaliation, job loss and victim shaming.“It is alarming large corporates disclosing nil complaints over the years which may indicate there is not much awareness created in terms of sensitisation sessions for employees and women are not feeling safe to come forward and complain,” said Kedia.