Sexual Harassment
The term sexual harassment refers to unreasonable intrusion into a person's personal space in relation to comments or actions of a sexual nature. There are laws dating back to the 1960s under the Civil Rights Act that target this issue in the workplace. This law was enacted to prohibit this type of behavior at work in addition to providing a framework or guidelines for employers to resolve the issue. There are several types of harassment considered unlawful and the focus here is to understand and determine how employees can respond to sexual actions in the workplace that create a hostile work environment (Employment Law 2011).
There are several circumstances in the workplace where sexual advances or comments are considered inappropriate, unreasonable, even hostile according to Employment and the Law (2011). Comments that repeat innuendo of a sexual nature such as dirty jokes, lewdness or slurs against the opposite or same sex, offending remarks or language that is obscene. Content in letters and notes, facsimiles, e-mail, graffiti that is of a sexual nature or sexually abusive. Propositions toward another that insult, threaten or are awkward and contain sexual content. Name calling using sexually explicit words that demean and offend another person or persons in the workplace. Intruding another's personal space with romantic advances or persistently causing unwanted attention. Leering making suggestive sexual noises, sounds or gestures such as whistling. Having pornography material in the workplace such as photos, wall calendars, news clips or cartoons.
Circumstances or actions that are considered hostile or pervasive include unwelcome or undesired patting, stroking, massages, fondling, or brushing against another person. Approaching someone to coerce them by putting pressure on them to exchange or give in to a sexual favor. Forced sexual intercourse such as rape or creating a condition or environment requiring sex in order to remain employed.
A hostile environment in the workplace contains any of the above situations and result in abuse or harassment that is unlawful. When this type of behavior is a part of the normal workplace each...
The behavioral situation could contain consistent comments that are slurs against an ethnicity or culture geared toward a certain race of people. Possibly comments made that slander a person's religious beliefs, age, political affiliation, citizenship, sexual preference, or appearance that continue on an ongoing basis are unreasonable and create a hostile situation. (Volokh 2011).
Some instances where a hostile work environment is evident is a group of men that work in construction site approaching a woman that is working there by touching, brushing aginst, or rubbing her person on a daily basis. When these advances make her uncomfortable or at the point that she is threatened or feels unsafe each day she comes to work, this is a hostile environment. These actions at this point are creating mental anguish that borders on abuse or a violation of her rights, again this is a hostile environment.
Consider an example where a very young and attractive married Hispanic man works as a nurse in a ward where all the other nurses are single women. If a situation exists where they are always teasing him about sex or jokingly asking for sexual favors, touching and stroking him, making sexual suggestions or revealing parts of their bodies. At the point that the male nurse feels awkward or uncomfortable around the nurses on a daily basis and considers their actions unwelcome, this could be a hostile situation as well. Especially if he feels that job performance is affected by these actions.
Social controls that can start actions to stop such behavior in the workplace begins when an employee makes the decision to report the allegations. Usually this is discussed with a manager in the Human Resource (HR) department. At this point the company has the responsibility to address the issue by following up with an investigation. The HR representative has to record the information that is reported by the person giving the claim according to sexual harassment policies in the HR guidelines. Usually the Human Resource manager has to conduct an inquiry into the facts of the claim. At this point they will have to speak with…
