Episode 5: Connecting Voices - A SASHA Circle

Studies upon studies show the significant impact the experience of sexual harassment can have on mental health and well-being. Sexual harassment can put its victims under severe mental and physical stress, leading to grave mental health consequences including depression, anxiety, stress, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicidal ideations, adjustment disorders, phobic and somatoform disorders. On the other side of this perspective, when the process of inquiry isn't fair, transparent and confidential, it can also impact Respondents, Witnesses and other Stakeholders. On 12th March, SASHA launched Connecting Voices - A SASHA Circle, our first close circle event. The topic for discussion was mental health and POSH at the workplace. The event focused on listening, discussing and sharing experiences around the social and psychological impacts of sexual harassment on complainants, respondents, witnesses, colleagues and family members. We had three speakers who shared their valuable insights on the theme. Our speakers were Dr. Sunita Simon, Professor, Dept of Psychiatry and Head of the Dept of Medical Ethics, St Johns Hospital, Bangalore, Dr. Preeti Majgi, clinical psychologist and social counsellor at Robert Bosch Engineering and Business solutions, Bangalore and Ms. Pavitra Jayaraman, Editorial Head at White Swan foundation, a non-profit working on mental health awareness. This was followed by Q&A and one sharing around the experience of sexual harassment in the virtual sphere. In this episode, we'll be talking about the highlights of this event. Dr. Simon also kindly shared with us her powerful short film on sexual harassment and sexual boundaries in the doctor-patient relationship. You can access the video here (http://youtu.be/ycSHqhCtYyc) and the document explaining its context here (https://sjri.res.in/admin/images/resources_uploads/An%2018-minute%20Film%20on%20Sexual%20Harassment%20-%20by%20Dr.%20Sunita%20Simon%20Kurpad.pdf). We express our heartfelt gratitude to all the speakers, sharers, listeners and participants for making this a memorable event! Follow us here and subscribe to our monthly newsletter by writing to us at voice@sashaindia.com to get updates on our forthcoming events. We also post regular updates and content on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/sasha-india), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SashaConsultants/), Twitter (https://twitter.com/VoiceSasha) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/voice_of_sasha/).