Sociology Essays – Sexual Harassment Work
Sexual Harassment WorkIntroduction
It is only in the past ten years or so that sexual behavior has been researched. The history of the term “sexual behavior” is thus short. Sexual harassment accounts for behavior that is socially, morally and verbally unacceptable at the work place. This leads to an antagonistic environment to work in. Physical and psychological health is worsened. The entire life of a person may be doomed after a horrific experience at the workplace.
Definition of Sexual Harassment: According to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Sexual harassment is unwelcome advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, when submission to or rejection of this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects a person’s employment or education, unreasonably interfered with a person’s work or educational performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive working or learning environment.
The United Stated Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) defines sexual harassment in the following way
When an individual is facing uninvited sexual advances, favors, or verbal or physical abuse, and his/her employment is being affected by this, it is termed sexual harassment. (EEOC).
Continuous pestering by team mates at work is becoming part of the norm nowadays. Sexual harassment involves sexual bias. The term can be defined as any unwelcome verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature that is harsh and affects working conditions pessimistically. According to Fitzgerald,” Sexual harassment is difficult to measure and difficult to prove.” A variety of effects follow such behavior. Livingstone (1982) describes how cultural standards aggravate a woman’s feelings of coercion following sexual harassment since socialization seems to give men the right to practice sexual encounters, and women are the main victims of these unpleasant acts.
Sexual harassment can be distinguished as:
Quid pro quo: in which the employee is demoted or downgraded due to a refrain from sexual interaction.
Hostile working environment, in which undesirable conduct of a sexual character creates a painful work atmosphere for some employees.
Gender harassment is basically when a woman is treated differently because she is a woman. This includes general sexist remarks and behavior (Fitzgerald 1990). This creates a hostile environment for women. Gender harassment differs from quid pro quo, in that the latter constitutes a sexual activity which is specifically linked towards rewards or punishments.
There are four levels of factors affecting sexual harassment:
The individual,
The interpersonal,
The institutional and
The socio cultural
Some figures on Sexual Harassment in the Workplace:
The following table shows a record of sexual harassment cases:
Percentage of cases in companies:
Outline of sexual harassment
%
Insinuating remarks
55.2
Grabbing, deliberate touching
39.8
Insinuating gestures
30.3
Staring, meaningful glances
28.4
Seemingly accidental touching
25.4
Insinuating jokes
23.9
Stipulation for sexual action
20.4
Derogatory remarks
19.4
Insult after the rejection of an approach
12.4
Showing, distribution of pornography
11.9
Displaying pornography
10.4
Promise of pros for sexual sessions
8.0
Whistling at the back of a person
7.5
Physically violating to force sexual action
6.5
Fear of professional drawbacks in cases of rejection of advances
6.0
Threat of physical hostility to force sexual activity
3.0
Source: BMFSFJ, Beschaftigtenschutzgesetz in der Praxis, Berlin, 2005; the figures do not reflect the incidence but only the allocation of forms of sexual harassment in the cases reported.—provide complete source in the reference page
The following facts have been established by the Equal Rights Advocates:
Two thirds of sexual harassment cases are brought against a woman’s immediate supervisor.
95% of suffers have to undergo stress reactions, including depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, low feeling of dignity, sexual dysfunction.
95% of cases go unreported.
Sexual harassment can cost a Fortune 500 company approximately $6.7 million per year, due to absenteeism and low productivity.
Companies with proper policies against sexual harassment cases have lower reported incidents.
Source: Equal Rights Advocates, 2000. “Facts About Sexual Harassment in the Workplace.”
The Harasser and the Harassed
Sexual harassment can be amongst any coworkers, not necessarily between male bosses and female subordinates. These incidents may constitute:
Peer – Peer harassment.
Supervisor harassing subordinates.
Women harassing men.
Same gender harassment – men to men, women to women.
Third party abuse.
The victim of the harassment is not necessarily only the recipients of the behavior, but anyone who is affected by the misconduct, is considered to be harassed.
Sexual Harassment – Sex or Power?
Sexual harassment is linked with power and takes place in societies which often treat women as second-class citizens or are degraded.
Causes
It has been reported that throughout history women have suffered from some sort of sexual harassment or the other, but it was just considered to be usual behavior and a bitter part of the job market. Women working in coal mines in olden days had to face harsh cruelties of this world defined by men.
Sexual harassment in the workplace started gaining acknowledgement only in the 70’s. (Caroline Goette, NLA Review, n.d). More women started gaining education, and got better jobs. This was the time when women started demanding equal rights as men. Emphasis was being laid upon the factor of equality.
Behavior is the product of biological drive and symbolizes the expression of sexual pull in workplaces. Certain environments like open offices and overcrowding, generate unethical and strange, undesirable feelings.
Sexual harassment does not have to be explicitly sexual in nature; it may include any single or multiple continual displeasing acts. If the gender of an individual causes unwanted behavior, this case may be considered harassment.
Apparently it is not only the females who are victimized. Men may also be the fatality. Some instances of harassment may be when:
A tutor or teacher at school constantly favors one gender (male or female).
A medical officer examines a patient in a sexual manner.
A superior asks sex-related questions.
A trainer makes certain sexual advances like touching, grabbing, etc, whilst at work.
Approximately 15,000 cases of sexual abuse or pestering are brought to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) yearly. According to media and survey reports, 40-60% of women are sexually harassed each year. About 30-50% of them have faced some kind of sexual assault or redundant sexual behavior at work (European Women’s Lobby).
A major cause of such behavioral acts is that women or men both give confused signals to their colleagues when they approach them. Harassment through text messages has also risen due to instant responding on the reception of a text message.
Sexual harassment poses a cost to business as well. Work efficiency is badly affected.
Conditions
Despite the rising frequency of harassment, individuals are still reluctant to report such cases (Gottlieb, 1990). Victims are more likely to be younger than the harassers and the people working under their direction are the ones feared to be targeted. This was the result of a survey conducted by Tangri. This is indeed a matter of grievance. The term sexual harassment may be confused with “dual relationships”, but these two elements are different from each other, in that the latter requires the consent of both parties, whereas the former case with holds a forceful act from one side. It is a single-sided affair that is annoying and highly unwanted.
Psychologists who face sexual harassment cases or who are acquaintances of directly involved victims may take such measures of inadequacy to the employing institution, for appropriate action to be carried out. They may also take the case to the Society so that legal action is taken for unnecessary acts.
If any conduct is unwelcome, then it is considered sexual harassment. It is essential to let the harasser know about his unwanted attitude toward you.
Comments about clothing, behavior or body, sexual jokes, or even threatening a person, are attributes to sexual harassment.
Physical conditions such as hugging, stroking, patting are examples of bodily harassment.
Sexual stalking also includes a condition in which a person is rejected a promotion, is demoted, is given poor performance remarks because he/she rejects sexual advances of the supervisor.
The manner of the harasser must be intense enough because a single incident is insufficient to make such a judgment. It would violate criminal laws, if such an incident occurs.
Rigorousness and Frequency of Sexual Harassment
The purpose of pairing rigorousness and frequency of an incident is to ensure offensive comments are not made in the work environment. The employee is to be protected from liabilities of objectionable remarks. A single incident may comprise sexual harassment if it is extended, unpleasant and very serious in nature, as mentioned earlier.
A combination of event with varying amounts of harshness is also termed harassment. The EEOC states, “the more severe the harassment, the less the need to show a repetitive series of incidents.” (EEOC).
Consequences
Following are the collective aspects of sexual harassment:
The abusive experiences of sexual harassment have a terrible impact on deeply-held values and beliefs.
Sexual harassment leaves a long-term effect. They distress physiological and psychological health.
The impact of harassment on interpersonal relationships (Diane K.Shrier, n.d). Work performance is influenced for the worse.
Both genders face equal amount of harassment. There are laws designed against sexual harassment in the workplace, for protection from the boss, co-workers, or customer at work. The federal law ensures employers remain responsible for preventing sexual harassment that occurs at the workplace.
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) forbid any sexual harassment on the job. Most state laws make sexual harassment illegal.
Taking revenge against someone is also against the law. Even investigating a sexual harassment case can cause trouble.
Employers of companies usually have certain internal grievance procedures, which employees are to follow in case of any such encounters. The employer of the company should know of any misconduct that has occurred. Embarrassment may be felt on telling someone about the harassment, but it is essential to do so because that way the employer will be held responsible for stopping such behavior in the organization.
The consequences of harassment at work may include inefficiency of the affected person too. The worker may not be hundred percent in full swing, because of the uncomfortable environment created by such acts. Productivity may be affected negatively. Dedication and devotion to work may diminish. The employee may not even feel like going back to work due to circumstances he/she has to face there. Working will just be a compulsion so that he/she can remain the bread winner of the family. There will be no satisfaction, only necessity. Job satisfaction will not persist any longer and may even disappear eternally.
Most sexual harassment cases go unreported due to the following reasons:
Women fear their reputation being manipulated and distorted at work.
There is fear of being known as a trouble maker or a menace.
There is general apprehension about discrimination in the work place.
Employees may be afraid of termination, or retaliation of the harasser, so they avoid confrontation with the high authorities about such cases.
Solutions
Every situation differs. You will have to look for different solutions in different cases. Firstly, it is important to report the sexual harassment to your employer. You can then file a charge with the state or even go to court.
How women put up with sexual harassment:
Since not all severity of harassment is equal, the reactions to the harassment incidents also differ.
The supportiveness of the environment varies the reaction to harassment. In a more supportive environment, the victims of sexual harassment are likely to go to others with their problem.
Sexual harassment can have a variety of psychologically damaging effects on victims, such as reduced self-esteem and hopelessness (Kauppinen – Toropainen and Gruber, 1996), victims coping mechanism may be reduced just at the time they need them the most.
Most studies of victim’s responses are insensitive to the dynamism of harassment.
It consists of how long the harassment has been happening, how a victim responds to the situation.
Clearly say “No”:
You have to clearly let the person know that you are offended by his/her behavior. Refuse all invitations by showing a firm attitude.
Make a record of everything:
Write down everything as soon as the sexual harassment starts taking place. Note down the dates, places and events. Try to involve witnesses as well. Do not keep this record at work, though. It is a good idea to keep it in a safe place like home.
Report to the HR department:
Tell the human resource department about your issue; they can stop the harassment. No matter who the harasser is, you must report.
Make a proper trail:
Make a written record of your incident; write down exactly what the problem is and how you want it to be fixed. A written record always holds value in such cases.
Use the personnel policies:
Read through the grievance procedures / manuals of your company. You may find a solution through them.
File a lawsuit:
You can consider filing a lawsuit. The law will let you get your job back, all the money damages, and the court can also assure of no further recurrence.
References
Legal Aspects – Information on Sexual Harassment
http://www.de2.psu.edu/harassment/legal/
Accessed October 30, 2007
Know Your Rights: Sexual Harassment At Work
http://www.equalrights.org/publications/kyr/shwork.asp
Accessed October 31, 2007
A Briefing Paper on Sexual Harassment at Work and the Ethics of Dual Relationships
http://www.bps.org.uk/the-society/ethics-rules-charter-code-of-conduct/code-of-conduct/a-briefing-paper-on-sexual-harassment-at-work-and-the-ethics-of-dual-relationships.cfm
Accessed October 31, 2007
Sexual Harassment in the Workplace in France and in the United States
http://www.nla.org/library/spring97/pg22.html
Accessed October 31, 2007
UCLA – the University of California, Los Angeles – is a public research university and a member of the Association of American Universities
http://www.sexualharassment.ucla.edu/what_is.html
Accessed October 31, 2007
Center for Women and Work
http://www.cww.rutgers.edu/dataPages/rbshintheworkforce.pdf
Accessed October 31, 2007
BMFSFJ, Beschaftigtenschutzgesetz in der Praxis, Berlin, 2005
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/ewco/2005/09/DE0509NU01.htmAccessed October 31, 2007
Caroline Goette, NLA Review
Sexual Harassment in the Workplace in France and in the United States.
http://www.nla.org/library/spring97/pg22.html
Accessed October 31, 2007
Persistence of gender inequalities – European Women’s Lobby
http://www.womenlobby.org/site/1abstract.asp?DocID=1209&v1ID=&RevID=&namePage=&pageParent=&DocID_sousmenu=
Accessed October 31, 2007
Gruber, J. E., Smith, M. D., & Kauppinen-Toropainen, K. (1996).
An exploration of sexual harassment experiences and severity: Results from North America and Europe. In M. Stockdale & B. Gutek (Eds.), Women and Work V Sexual harassment. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Livingstone, J.A. (1982).
Responses to sexual harassment on the job: Legal, organizational and individual actions. Journal of Social Issues, 38(4), 5-22.
Fitzgerald, L.F. & Hesson-McInnis M. (1989).
The dimensions of sexual harassment. A structural analysis. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 35, 309-326.
Tangri, S.S. et al. (1982).
Sexual harassment at work: three explanatory models. Journal of Social Issues, 38, 33-35.
Sexual Harassment in the Workplace and Academia: Psychiatric Issues –
By Diane K. Shrier The American Psychiatric Publishing Inc, 1996
