Women's Cell

The objective of a University Women's Cell is typically to ensure the safety, well-being, and empowerment of female students, faculty, and staff within the university environment. Some specific objectives might include:

• Empowerment: To empower women by providing them with resources, support, and opportunities for personal and professional growth.
• Support: To offer support to women who may be facing various challenges such as discrimination, harassment, domestic violence, or other forms of gender-based violence.
• Awareness: To raise awareness about issues affecting women's rights, gender equality, and social justice within the community or organization.
• Education: To provide educational programs, workshops, and training sessions on topics such as gender sensitivity, women's health, legal rights, and career development.
• Prevention: To work towards the prevention of gender-based discrimination, harassment, and violence through awareness campaigns and proactive measures.
• Networking: To facilitate networking and collaboration among women within the organization or community, enabling them to share experiences, resources, and support each other.
• Research and Documentation: To conduct research, collect data, and document cases related to women's issues, contributing to evidence-based advocacy and policy-making.
• Safe Space: To create a safe and supportive environment where women feel comfortable seeking assistance, sharing their concerns, and accessing resources.

The University in pursuance to the regulations published by UGC "University Grants Commission (Prevention, prohibition and redressal of sexual harassment of women employees and students in higher educational institutions) Regulations, 2015" has constituted the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) at Darshan University for Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal of Sexual Harassment of Women employees and students in the Darshan University, as under:

Objectives of ICC

• To prevent discrimination and sexual harassment against women, by promoting gender equality among students and employees;
• To lay down procedures for the prohibition, resolution, settlement and prosecution of acts of discrimination and sexual harassment against women, by the students and the employees;
• Deal with cases of discrimination and sexual harassment against women, in a time bound manner, aiming at ensuring support services to the victimised and termination of the harassment;
• Recommend appropriate punitive action against the guilty party to the Chair/Provost of Darshan University.

Responsibilities of ICC

• To provide assistance if an employee or a student chooses to file a complaint with the police;
• To provide mechanism of dispute redressal and dialogue to anticipate and address issues through just and fair conciliation without undermining complainant's rights, and minimise the need for purely punitive approaches that lead to further resentment, alienation or violence;
• To protect the safety of the complainant by not divulging the person's identity, and provide the mandatory relief by way of sanctioned leave or relaxation of attendance requirement or transfer to another department or supervisor as required during the pendency of the complaint, or also provide for the transfer of the offender;
• Ensure that victims or witnesses are not victimised or discriminated against while dealing with complaints of sexual harassment; and
• Ensure prohibition of retaliation or adverse action against a covered individual because the employee or the student is engaged in protected activity.