Coimbatore : All -India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) on Monday advocated formulation of a general policy to protect women facing challenges of sexual harassment and related other offences at workplaces.

By preferring complaints of sexual harassment, including the recent ‘Metoo’ campaign, instead of proper investigation, it was leading to women being targeted and character assassination, AIDWA vice-president U Vasuki said.

At a meeting organised by women journalists on “Challenges faced by Women in the Media field’, she said that it was very difficult to prove the charges of sexual harassment at workplace. With the lack of evidence, it was better for the women to share their problems with colleagues or send e-mails to their close friends and relatives.

Stressing the need for a general policy to protect women, not only in media, she said there was also the need to monitor the portrayal of women subject to harassment in the media. Referring to a female singer, Chinmayi’s problem with lyricist Vairamuthu, she said it was ridiculous for a famous composer to remark that he would not work with the singer again in this backdrop.

Vasuki, who is also a CPM central committee member, also assured the women journalists of taking up their cause and asked them to submit their problems.

A large number of women journalists presented their views and types of harassment at workplace, bossism by male colleagues and the formation of the Visakha committee as suggested by the Centre.