Adv. Shivangi Prasad

Through POSH at Work, which provides 360-degree solutions against sexual harassment, Shivangi has assisted clients on POSH law, acted as an external member of the internal committee of various organizations, issued legal opinions, handled complaints, and conducted training and awareness sessions with a wide footprint across individuals.

She has spoken at several events including the Women Economic Forum (Kerala & Bengaluru), CII (IWN), and IE University, Spain. She was also a part of a discussion with United Nations Women and the National Commission for Women on Sexual Harassment at the Workplace. She is the President of the Maharashtra Anti-Sexual Harassment Council, WICCI, and Advisory Country Chair of G100, Child Care & Protection Wing (India).

Along with legal books, she also writes extensively on the subject. She has authored multiple blogs, some of which have been reported by Business Standard and Huffington Post, and she has been quoted by leading newspapers such as The Economic Times, Livemint, and Business Standard.

Core Skills: Policy Writing, Legal Advice, Complaint Management & Related Drafting, People Focused Training, Culture Audit and Drafting Customised Strategies, Workflows and Standard Operating Procedures for smooth compliance. 

Primary and Allied Laws she refers to: POSH Act, POCSO Act, Transgender Persons Act, HIV AIDS Act, Persons with Disabilities Act, Maternity Benefit Act, Mental Healthcare Act, Indian Penal Code & related laws, IT Act, Immoral Traffick Prevention Act, Service Rules (based on org type), UGC & AICTE Guidelines, SC & HC Guidelines.

Trends Experienced with Complaints: Shivangi has worked with Organizations from different sectors, key ones being IT, Banking & Insurance & Manufacturing with employees ranging from 3,00,000 to 20 and age group ranging from 18 to 60. With 805+ complaints handled, Shivangi has seen complaints filed by individuals identifying as different genders (so far trends show complaints filed mostly by women) against employees & ex-employees primarily. Majority of these have been in writing to the IC. Guilt has been proven in majority of these cases with a few of them also being inconclusive or resulting into false allegations. So far, none of the reports prepared have been overturned by any Court of Law.

Trends Experienced around Training Programs: Shivangi keeps herself updated on recent trends and legal updates globally. These get incorporated in the People Focused Training Programs she conducts. In her experience, while most individual contributors ask questions around role of intention, consequences of such harassment, retaliation and how confidentiality can be maintained. Managers seem worried about the role they must play with regards to their team members. IC members on the other hand mostly feel concerned about their duties and liabilities and how they can ensure correct decision making.