Sexual Harassment

¶ … real issue facing employees and the companies they work for, the topic of sexual harassment plagues courts and policy makers. The problem often rests with the definition: what constitutes sexual harassment? Sometimes innocent innuendo is mistaken for hostility. In the modern working environment, such hyperawareness proves unproductive. As Anne B.

Fisher states in her article, "Sexual Harassment: What to Do?" "For all the seriousness of the issue, it would be a great pity if men and women got to the point of giving up on workplace friendships altogether...It will be a sad day, if it ever comes, when people are too nervous to ask a pal out for a drink," (p. 293). These sentiments are shared by Kingsley R.

Browne in his exposition, "Title VII as Censorship: Hostile-Environment Harassment and the First Amendment." Drawing on legal precedent, Browne testifies about the thin line that exists today between free speech and harassment. Browne criticizes the giving over of power to the courts "to determine matters of taste and humor," (p. 342). Ideally, the office environment should offer protection to all of its employees. Harassment of any sort, whether racial or sexual, should never be tolerated and measures must be taken to ensure swift repercussions against those who perpetrate these crimes.

However, an ideal working environment is also pervaded by a sense of humor and a healthy dose of reality. Both women and men need to understand that the boundaries they draw may not be universal. What angers one woman may not affect another. Likewise, the same words uttered by two individuals will come across differently. Some men, especially those who are good looking, may get away with a lot more. This does not imply that sly sexual advances made in the workplace are tolerable.

Like children, employees need to be taught common sense and manners. Censorship, as Browne asserts, is an inappropriate and disproportionate response to the issue of sexual harassment. Censoring appropriate behavior may seem like a convenient way to blanket the topic. By banishing all forms of male-female interaction, censorship does not create a positive working environment. Rather, it contributes to an atmosphere of fear and mistrust. Moreover, enforcing the artificial rules of political correctness on the workplace creates an opposite pendulum swing.

The answer is in the balance and in the boundaries. Men and women need to be adamant about drawing lines for themselves but should never impose those boundaries on those around them. Unfortunately, both men and women succumb to peer pressure when it comes to sexual harassment. Women may feel pressured to either tolerate butt pats or to tattle on any eye contact. As Fisher states, "sexual harassment is not really about sex. It's about power -- more to the point, the.