About Us
What is CEASE?
Conservationists & Ecologists Against SExual Harassment (CEASE) is an informal collective of people concerned about welfare and safety with regards to sexual harassment. We are particularly focussed on the challenges associated with working across diverse contexts and situations, in the field, often in remote places, and overall, in non-standard work spaces (although most guidance here applies to regular work spaces as well).
Spurred by a recognition that the problem of sexual harassment in workplaces is chronic and systemic, we have made a start by putting together relevant and useful material so that institutions are aware of their obligations, and that individuals have relevant information and guidance available for ready reference.
We see this effort as ongoing, and our outputs (including this website) as evolving over time. While current laws focus on women only as victims of sexual harassment at the workplace, we emphasise that workplace safety is vital for all, especially vulnerable groups such as LGBTQ+ members and others.
Who is behind CEASE?
The materials and resources you see on this website have been collected and curated by a number of people who work in conservation and ecology in India. They include:
Bittu K R
Divya Vasudev
Ishika Ramakrishna
Jayashree Ratnam
Kavita Isvaran
Krishnapriya Tamma
Madhuri Ramesh
Manjari Jain
Marianne Manuel
Nandini Rajamani
Parveen Shaikh
Priti Bangal
Ratna Ghosal
Rohit R. S. Jha
Saloni Bhatia
Shivani Jadeja
Shomita Mukherjee
Suhel Quader
Vena Kapoor
The people listed here are drawn from diverse work locations and institution types — from independent researchers, to those working at NGOs, public and private universities, and government research institutions. They have contributed to this effort in their individual capacities, and not on behalf of or representing their institutions in any way.
How can I contribute to this effort?
At the moment, the CEASE effort is focussed on collecting important information about sexual harassment and making it widely available. We do recognise that although this is a necessary step, it is not sufficient. We therefore encourage everyone who is concerned about this issue to take one or more of the following actions:
- Spread awareness among individuals by disseminating the information contained here through social media, webinars, discussions (formal and informal) and workshops.
- If you are part of an institution, talk to your colleagues and try and ensure that the leadership is aware of the institution's obligations, and also implements (in letter as well as spirit) the various requirements and good practices that we have compiled.
In doing this, please feel free to use and modify (where needed) any of the materials on this website. All content on this website is available under a CC-BY license.
I have been, or am being, sexually harassed. What should I do?
Sexual harassment is unacceptable under any circumstance. If you feel able to, please make a formal complaint. If you work in an organisation with more than 10 employees, your organisation should have an Internal Committee (IC), and you should approach them. If the perpetrator is not an employee of your organisation, you can still approach your IC for assistance and they will be able to help to make a complaint to the perpetrator's IC, or the Local Committee or the police. You can also go directly to the Local Committee or the police with your complaint.
This website gives various pieces of guidance for what you can do if you have been, or are being, sexually harassed; but the information contained here is not exhaustive. If you need more information, or the specifics of your situation are not covered in these pages, then it is best to consult someone with specific training and experience — your institution's IC or a lawyer who specialises in cases of sexual harassment.