Sexual harassment: definitions, impacts, and prevention strategies

Sexual harassment in the workplace is a widespread problem and a serious issue not only because of moral and ethical violations but also because of legal repercussions involved. While the issue is serious and attention is being paid to curtail it, there still remain some ambiguities due to which it is not easy to determine what actually constitutes sexual harassment. For one, we must understand that sexual harassment is not the same thing as friendly pat on the shoulder or a casual peck on the cheek; it has been to something uncalled for and violating our personal boundaries for it to qualify as harassment. Over the years, so much has been said about sexual harassment that male colleagues in the workplace may feel threatened and may even be wrongfully accused of harassing female colleagues when they were only trying to be friendly.

In the case of Peggy, we need to first determine if this is a regular habit of John's. Does he engage in physical contact more often than this? Secondly, we need to determine if he has been warned before? This is very important. Repeated unbecoming behavior about which the person has been warned can constitute sexual harassment and should be reported. Peggy's case may come under hostile environment category of sexual harassment. In the cases concerning sexual harassment, it is important to understand what constitutes harassment, how many types of sexual harassment are there and exactly what a company needs to do to control it. One must also be aware of the possible legal repercussions.

Sexual harassment is major offence against a person's dignity, which violats title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964. It is important to understand that without a clear definition of sexual harassment, the issue cannot be effectively resolved. Both employers and employees should know precisely what type of unwanted advances and inappropriate behavior can be labeled as sexual harassment so concrete measures can be taken to discourage and report such behavior. According to the EEOC guidelines, sexual harassment is defined as, "unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and/or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature" (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines, 1980-Landis-Schiff, 1996 pp. 22).

There are two most common forms of sexual harassment namely Quid pro quo and hostile environment. The EEOC after thorough investigation of the sexual harassment cases reached the conclusion that these two types of harassment were commonly encountered by female employees in the workplace.

When a sexual harassment case is brought to the court, the court would want to know about the efforts made by the employers to curb, control or eliminate instances of sexual harassment. Having a sexual harassment policy is never enough. The courts would want to know how you communicated it to the workers in your organization. Besides the policy, the courts would want to see evidence of actions taken to educate the workers regarding company's stand on sexual harassment. The Supreme Court has made it very clear that having a sexual harassment policy is not enough and employers would come under attack if it has been found that the companies did not take appropriate measures to educate the staff. In some sexual harassment cases, the employers were able to avoid penalties when it was found that the organization had taken the most appropriate measures to prohibit and discourage sexually offensive behavior.

Robert McGarvey (1998) writes, "The policy should define sexual harassment and indicate that the company has zero tolerance for it. It also needs to indicate several people to whom employees can take concerns, usually an employee's immediate supervisor and at least one other person. This policy should be drafted by a lawyer ...."The court has made clear that just having a policy isn't good enough," says Levy [Anne Levy, an associate professor of law, business and public policy at Michigan State University and author of Workplace Sexual Harassment]. You've got to broadcast it. Post it in employee break rooms or insert it as a stuffer with the next paycheck. And have supervisors meet with their work groups to discuss the policy."

The reason why employers come under attack is simple; according to the EEOC it is the duty of the top management to make certain that the workplace is free of sexually offensive elements. It is therefore extremely important to avoid all kind of inappropriate behavior in the workplace and the employees should be listened to sympathetically when a complaint is lodged against any office worker. A victim of sexual harassment can accuse the employers of not paying attention to her complaints and this can result in serious damages for the firm. The court is becoming more sensitive to this issue and if it is found that though the complaint was filed, the employers failed to take any action, the court can then charge the employers and award then serious penalties.