The Ministry of Women and Child Development had launched the SHe-Box Portal to strengthen digital governance and address workplace sexual harassment complaints. Union Minister Annpurna Devi shared this initiative in the Lok Sabha, highlighting its role in ensuring faster, transparent grievance redressal for women.
NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Women and Child Development had launched the Sexual Harassment electronic Box (SHe-Box) Portal as part of a transformative digital governance initiative. This information was presented by Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Smt. Annpurna Devi, in response to a question in the Lok Sabha.
About the SHe-Box Portal
The SHe-Box Portal aims to provide a unified access point for all women, regardless of their employment status whether in organized or unorganized sectors, public or private allowing them to file complaints related to sexual harassment. Women experiencing harassment at the workplace can submit their complaints through this portal, which will be forwarded directly to the appropriate authority for action.
The Resources Section of the SHe-Box features comprehensive information about sexual harassment in the workplace. It includes the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, along with accompanying rules in both Hindi and English.
The repository offers a Handbook that simplifies the SH Act and includes a training module aimed at enhancing the understanding of government officials regarding its provisions. Private organizations can customize this module according to their existing service rules. Additionally, for government officials, the repository includes all advisories, office memorandums, and guidelines issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). All documents can be accessed online or downloaded at no cost. The repository also contains videos to help raise awareness about the SH Act.
Objectives of the SHe-Box
- Ensure a safe environment for all working women
- Provide faster remedies
- Eliminate hostile or humiliating treatment at the workplace
- Safeguard the rights and status of women in the workplace
- Promote the SHe-Box through social media platforms to reach every working woman in the country
The Supreme Court, in the case of Aureliano Fernandes v/s State of Goa and Ors. (M.A Dy. No. 22553 of 2023 in Civil Appeal No. 2482 of 2014), has underscored the necessity of implementing the SH Act effectively and has issued several directives for its enforcement. The Court ordered the formation of Internal Committees in all workplaces with more than 10 employees, along with Local Committees at the district level.
To ensure effective and transparent implementation of the SH Act, 2013, the Ministry of Women and Child Development launched the SHe-Box Portal (https://shebox.wcd.gov.in/) on August 29, 2024. To guarantee compliance across all sectors, including government departments and public sector undertakings, the Ministry has sent letters and advisories to all Central Ministries, Departments, States, and Union Territories to ensure the onboarding and updating of Internal Committee details on the portal.
So far, over 91,250 government departments and offices at the central, state, district, and sub-district levels have been onboarded onto the portal, with 36,775 having updated their Internal Committee details. To accelerate this process, the Ministry follows up with stakeholders at all levels.
Systematic measures have been taken to expedite necessary details on the portal, including:
- Automated Notifications: Regular reminders, SMS alerts, and emails are sent to designated Nodal Officers to facilitate the updating process.
- Freeze Messages: Escalation notifications are posted on the Dashboards of Nodal Officers to ensure pending tasks receive priority attention.
- Technical Assistance: Dedicated technical support teams are available to assist various Central Ministries, Departments, and Private entities during onboarding.
The Supreme Court, via an order dated December 3, 2024, directed Chief Secretaries of each State to instruct Deputy Commissioners, District Magistrates, or Additional District Magistrates to survey both public and private organizations within the district concerning the formation of Internal Committees. District Officers were tasked with uploading relevant details for effective implementation of Sections 4 and 6 of the Act regarding the establishment of Internal Complaints Committees in workplaces, and to upload these details to the SHe-Box.
In subsequent orders on August 12, 2025, and January 6, 2026, the Court further instructed District Officers to conduct surveys with the cooperation of Labour Commissioners and to ensure that previously collected data is uploaded to the SHe-Box portal established by the Ministry of WCD.
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 aims to prevent sexual harassment at workplaces and ensure a safe, secure, and inclusive environment for women across all sectors. It encompasses all women, regardless of age or employment status, covering both organized and unorganized sectors in public and private workplaces, including domestic workers.
Under the Act, the Central Government is deemed the Appropriate Government for workplaces established, owned, controlled, or substantially financed by it. Conversely, the State Government holds this status for workplaces financed directly or indirectly by them and for all other workplaces within their jurisdiction.
Significantly, the definitions in the SH Act, 2013 ensure its unequivocal applicability to all women, regardless of their sector, employment status, or nature of work.
Section 2(a) of the Act defines “aggrieved woman” as any woman, of any age, whether employed or not, who claims to have been subjected to sexual harassment at the workplace. This broad definition ensures that every woman present in a workplace, regardless of her role, is protected under the Act.
Additionally, Section 2(f) defines “employee” broadly, including those employed on a regular, temporary, ad hoc, or daily wage basis, either directly or indirectly, incorporating volunteers, trainees, contractors, apprentices, consultants, and even unpaid interns. This definition guarantees that economic dependency on the employer or in-charge is not a prerequisite for protection.