Thread by @TheRestlessQuil

excellent question. year on year complaints about the same men from many women tend to not be seen as malicious/false. if they are there's something seriously wrong with the way the ICC is conducting the enquiry. moreover, it's very hard to prove a false complaint ++

https://twitter.com/Shobhana0506/status/1075243759271587840

at best it can be an inclusive report where nothing could be ascertained.

in cases of malicious complaints, it HAS to be proven that there was ill-intention in making the allegation.

how do you prove that? it's very hard but if there is a strong case for it the INTENT ++

to harm has to be proved. usually it's monetary benefit or i hate using this word --- revenge.

Not all unproven charges are "false" complaints or malicious.

Sec 14 of the PoSH Act prescribes punishment for malicious complaints but this is a hard thing to prove.

since there are enormous resources that go into an investigation of an SH complaint, it is vital that employers create a deterrent for malicious complaints. further, the deterrent needs to be set such that genuine cases have room, confidence and freedom to be brought forward.

it is also important than every complaint, genuine or malicious be investigated.

which is why the ICC and its composition is so very important.

in the last two months, i've heard of several ICCs swinging in to action only to have complainants be questioned in the presence

of the accused. Witnesses too. This is a severe violation of the process that the PoSH Act requires employers to follow.

AND THIS IS IMPORTANT: If you are a complainant and you think the ICC process is in violation or is in favour of the accused -- MAKE A NOISE.

Put everything down on email and register your misgivings as and when they occur. An option is to go through the current investigation, log every violation, every where you thought you weren't given a fair chance. Then ask for a reconstituted ICC enquiry. DO NOT BE BULLIED.

But back to malicious complaints, it's very very hard to prove for both complainant and accused.

And the percentage of false complaints is SO very low that this conversation about it makes me think it is a nice derailment tactic.

Some things I do know about false/malicious+

complaints
1. Usually, there is only complainant in malicious complaints (This is a no brainer because if a man has nothing to hide -- to quote my all-time love Idris Elba -- then unlikely more than one woman will complain.)

2. Accusers usually come clean during the process of +

enquiry, which is during the reconciliation phase that the PoSH Act recommends.

3. Very very very very very few women complain with an intent to harm.

But in the end to prove a complaint malicious (not false) the ICC needs to be top notch, and the enquiry needs to be intensive

Once more, an inconclusive report is NOT the same as a false complaint or a malicious one.

An inconclusive case could just be a case of misunderstanding.

Unless the ICC does it's job very well, it is hard to distinguish and label a case of no merit as malicious.