The government may have tightened laws against sexual harassment at the workplace, but not much has changed for the victims, as clearly demonstrated by The Energy Research Institute (TERI) recently retaining former institute chief R K Pachauri, who stands accused of sexually harassing and stalking a colleague. The complainant has hit out at the administration with an open letter saying the news made her skin crawl.

Well, it would. After the complaint was lodged last year, an internal inquiry found Pachauri guilty of misconduct. Despite that, TERI promoted Pachauri to the newly created post of executive vice-chairman. The victim, on the other hand, paid a huge price for complaining, from having no earnings for a while, to finding zero support from the organisation as her dignity was shredded.