Fostering Workplace Inclusivity in India: A Legal and Social Perspective on Hiring Rape Victims and Acid Attack Survivors

Abstract

The paper examines promising practices and models of inclusion through corporate and civil society interventions. Case studies such as Sheroes Hangout Cafes demonstrate how survivor-led spaces can be both economically viable and socially transformative. Corporate efforts like Tata Steel’s diversity hiring and Unilever’s Project Shakti offer scalable frameworks for survivor integration, even if they currently do not explicitly target this group. Similarly, the HCL Foundation and Urban Company have shown how partnerships with NGOs and flexible gig economy models can empower survivors with skill training and dignified livelihoods.

Building on feminist legal theory, disability rights discourse, and trauma-informed approaches, this paper proposes a six-pillar model for inclusive employment. These pillars include legal recognition of survivors within employment law and disability frameworks, corporate sensitization to survivor realities, structured community-based rehabilitation programs, public-private-NGO partnerships, survivor-led policy shaping, and robust monitoring systems to track impact.

The recommendations call for amending existing legislation to explicitly include survivors, creating national survivor employment policies, and establishing employment desks at key touchpoints such as hospitals and colleges. It also suggests integrating survivor hiring into ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) metrics to incentivize corporate participation. Survivor-led sensitization and workplace audits are emphasized as powerful tools to build empathy and accountability.

In conclusion, inclusive employment for survivors is not merely a matter of legal compliance or corporate responsibility—it is a moral and social imperative. By embedding survivor voices into policymaking and creating trauma-informed workplaces, India has the potential to emerge as a global leader in gender-sensitive employment practices. A just, equitable workforce must be anchored in the principles of dignity, justice, and inclusion.