In recent years a number of high-profile stories of prevalent workplace sexual harassment at “prominent” companies have been exposed. These stories might lead the headlines for a while. A smaller percentage of men are also harassed by women or other men.
While the victim’s experience of sexual harassment can range from uncomfortable to distressing in the workplace. The relationship between culture and workplace sexual harassment is complicated, something is clearly twisted in how culture is supported against how it’s experienced. Workplace sexual harassment claims are often settled behind closed doors, there’s little opportunity to understand and learn from what’s happened. Even if details are shared, people tend to focus more on the scandalous detail than any lessons that can be learned. Privacy is important, but societies need to start having the tough discussions that can make change happen. We want to help start these discussions outlining workplace sexual harassment, unwelcome sexual development, request for sexual favors or other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature which a reasonable person would anticipate would cause a person to feel insulted, humiliated or afraid constitutes sexual harassment.
To really understand what the explanation covers, we need to look more specifically at the types of behaviors covered. Unwelcome touch, staring or leering, sexually explicit pictures or posters, unwanted invitations to go out on dates, requests for sex, intrusive questions about a person’s private life or body. Unnecessary familiarity, such as deliberately brushing up against a person, insults or taunts based on sex, sexually explicit physical contact and sexually explicit emails or SMS text messages. These are just examples and they all look incontrovertible on the page. Other behaviors that still amount to workplace sexual harassment can be less obvious,
Who’s responsible? The person who sexually harasses someone is responsible for the harassment, but employers can also be held responsible for the actions of employees. Having policies and procedures to create a harassment-free environment, and make reporting effective will help limit an employer’s liability, and can help reduce incidents.
Many (up to 80%) of sexual harassment incidents go unreported and some of the cultural and contextual factors that might be to blame.
Researches say some of the reasons victims of workplace sexual harassment so often decide not to make a formal report are a lack of support and protection. “People may not feel comfortable speaking up when there’s a lack of forceful policies, procedural rigor of reporting frameworks. Also, when there’s a perceived or actual lack of consequences, lack of promise from leaders or the feeling the criminal won’t get caught because there won’t be a thorough investigation, people don’t feel safe reporting wrongdoing,”