Sexual Harassment at work
Sexual harassment is unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature. It makes someone feel upset, scared, offended or humiliated, or is meant to make them feel that way and this experience affects people in different ways.
There are two types of sexual harassment
- Quid pro quo sexual harassment
this sexual harassment is a type of sexual harassment that forces a person who is in a lower position than them to have a sexual relationship by using their position, and if the other person refuses, they can show disadvantages such as demotion or leaving the company.
- Hostile environment sexual harassment
Hostile Environmental sexual harassment is a type of sexual harassment that causes people around them to feel uncomfortable and harm the work environment by repeating sexual harassment in the workplace regardless of their position or hierarchical relationship.
In above, quid pro quo sexual harassment is a manifestation of power relations. In recent years, many people have bravely came forward as victims of workplace sexual harassment. For example, there was a “Me Too movement”. #MeToo is a social movement against sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and rape culture, in which people publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. The phrase “Me Too” was initially used in this context on social media in 2006, on Myspace, by sexual assault survivor and activist Tarana Burke. Sexual misconduct survivors shed light on abuses in Hollywood in October 2017 and the world took notice and a lot of people including celebrities started using and sharing their story on Twitter. It must be really hard to speak up about personal harassment and feel alone. However, ordinary people gained courage and confidence to stand out and publicize their stories by celebrity accusations. It’s scary to tell the truth and what if he makes me demote or leave the company but we’re not alone anymore. I can say the power differential is one of a big cause of sexual harassments. Women are much more likely to be victims of sexual harassment precisely because they more often than men lack power, are in more vulnerable and insecure positions, lack self confidence, or have been socialized to suffer in silence.
Also I believe another reasons why hostile environmental sexual harassment occurs is that there is no clear standard for sexual harassment. Sometimes people who commit sexual harassment, they don’t fully comprehend what counts as sexual harassment in the world. They might not realize that greeting people with a kiss on the cheek or complimenting their appearance is grounds for a sexual harassment complaint. On the other hand, complaints also stem from employees who think they’re being harassed but technically are not according to company policies. By clearly defining sexual harassment, organizations can avoid these sticky situations.
When thinking about sexual harassment, it is indispensable to know a line that says “Where is acceptable area, and where is beyond acceptable area?” For example, In my workplace, my boss have telling me about light sexual jokes and I didn’t think about anything. It was ok for me to listen his sexual jokes but my friend don’t even want to be asked like “ Do you have a boyfriend” or something like her view of love too. Telling sexual joke, asking about someone’s sex life, making a joke about someone’s sex or gender are also consider as a sexual harassment but there’s no clear line. Even though they’re acceptable for somebody, they’re not acceptable for others. This might be depending on the culture or country.
Sexual harassment is not 100% clear but one of the criteria is generally whether the words and actions were against the will of the other person or whether the other person felt uncomfortable. In order to avoid unconscious sexual harassment, it is important to pay attention to your own words and actions and to be aware of the words and actions that lead to sexual harassment. The selfish belief like “the other person must like me, she says I don’t like it, but she must be happy,” is the first step toward sexual harassment. You need to always think about the feelings of others and act so that you can read the “No” sign from the other person’s behavior and vibes.
We must prepare an environment in which workers, whether male or female, can be respected and fully completed without being discriminated against by their gender and sexual harassment.
Airi 10270592
