Why neither the law, nor a helpline, is enough to tackle gender discrimination/sexual harassment
Summary: The subjective nature of gender discrimination/sexual harassment makes it difficult for not only the law/helpline administrator, but even the victims themselves to ascertain its occurrence. The lack of genuine support on offer to the victims further besets these issues. A smarter feedback system that reduces subjectivity, and help victims garner support prior to embarking down this emotionally stressful path may be the key to a better deterrent and reporting mechanism.
The law is impartial; it has to strike a balance between the accused and the accuser. Balance is never an easy task; it has to consider a myriad of factors, ranging from the genesis, the relationships, the circumstances, the limited, or even conflicting evidence, and much more.
Therefore, although the law is enacted to deter perpetrators, the arduous protracted process, and the subjectivity of the law, ends up deterring the victims instead. One such ‘clear-cut’ (sic) sexual harassment case was thrown out due to a technicality in the definition of ‘supervisor’ in the law [The Guardian #1].
A community or company helpline is more accessible, by being less arduous, but it is also a poorer cousin of the law, in terms of effectiveness and impartiality; the latter is, after all, is being paid for by the very entity the victims are rising against [USNews #1].
To the victims, the law/helpline fails the basic risk vs. gain equation; the uncertainty of a favorable outcome outweighs the pre/post-trauma, and the potential loss/stigma. The best scenario (sic) for any victim, barring million-dollar settlement/damages award, is one mired in negativity in the short-term, a LOSE-LOSE; the accused is dismissed, but the accuser may be swept by the undercurrents of underhand reprisals, and lost career opportunities. [The Guardian #2].
Uncertainty does not only plague the judgment of those administering the law/helpline. With the advent of digital age, and social media blurring the once distinct line of formal and informal communications, uncertainty now clouds even the victim’s ability to discern misdemeanors [Harvard Business Review #1], which further paralyzes their attempts to speak out for fear of being labelled as a chronic complainer or radical feminist [Comsopolitan #1]
All is not lost however, victims are known to speak out [Harvard Business Review #1, Cosmopolitan #1] if there are strength in numbers, since that offers an objective metric to dispel doubts about their own judgements, and lends a supporting arm to endure the debilitating process of reporting, the ensuing investigations, and the aftermath.
We believe therein lies part of the key for creating a smarter mechanism to encourage victims to speak out; a reporting tool where the user controls the threshold similar incidents have to exceed prior activating the law/helpline.
In corollary, a company’s commitment to gender discrimination/sexual harassment should not be gauged merely by company values, nor the employee handbook, but rather through the peace of mind, and support the reporting mechanism offers.
