Sexual Harassment and Cultural Challenges

Cultural Issues: Sexual Harassment

Although it might appear sexual harassment is universally a bad thing, different cultures may have different standards and norms for what constitutes harassment. This is a very difficult topic. Even within our own cultural context, people have very different levels of comfort regarding sexual issues. Some cultures have standards of modesty that might forbid someone from discussing intimate matters with a counselor of the opposite gender. Other cultures might accept a level of flirtatiousness and intimacy as normal, even comparison with our own secular, relaxed standards. Some cultures may regard feminism as sacrosanct, while others may consider deference to feminine weakness polite. Some cultures embrace tolerance to the LGBT+ community, while others are still struggling with the issue of acceptance. As well as religion and gender, sexual orientation, power position, even geography and employment background might be relevant, as individuals from certain areas of the country or professions might have a more reserved or relaxed standard in terms of physical touching, using first names, or making jokes about sexual or gender-related matters. If there is any confusion, it is best to discuss the issue directly, prefacing it with the counselor’s own situatedness, versus assuming ill intentions.

In general, according to Mishra & Davison (2020), in one study of cultural views of harassment, North American, German, and Australian employees were more apt to perceive problems with high levels of power difference and gender difference than persons from Brazil, all things being equal, in the same workplace scenarios. Discussing the issue of sexual harassment with either someone making an accusation or being accused (or with someone who is concerned about the counselor’s own perceptions), requires sensitivity to the relativistic and often constantly changing standards gender, religion, and also physical and verbal distance and intimacy. Empathy is required to understand the client’s intention, rather than solely viewing the language outside of context. On the other hand, it is also vitally important to remember that the counselor does not have to tolerate personally offensive behavior to him or herself as a condition of counseling someone.