Sexual Harassment and the Role of Gender
Sexual harassment may be presented in a number of ways. These modes of harassment may be visual, verbal or physical acts that are suggestive of sexual progress and that arise without welcome. Thee kinds of conducts are termed as sexual harassment if they are pervasive and severe. In verbal and written forms of sexual harassment, one party progress to make some sexually charged comments about personal behavior, clothing or the general body of another person. Verbal sexual harassment may include sex oriented jokes, request for sexual favors, sparking threats to another person, telling stories of another persons sexual and personal life and making sexual innuendoes. Sexual harassment due to physical means comprises of assaults which may block or impede movements as well as inappropriate touching of a persons body or clothing, hugging, kissing, stroking and patting. Apart from physical assaults, people may sexually be abused through nonverbal means such as observing someone up and down the body with great interest or the making of derogatory gestures (Paludi, 2003). Other nonverbal assaults include acts such as the following of a person and the making of facial explanation suggestive of a sexual nature.
The last type of sexual assault is the one that takes the form of visual means to cause sexual abuses. These visual assaults may be in form of e-mails, pictures, posters, drawings and screensavers. Another form of sexual harassment which may not be grouped as a sexual conduct is the kind of harassment directed to an individual because he is a male or she is a female. For instance, in male dominated professions such as building and construction, the female characters may sexually be abused by mistreatments from her fellow workers or getting underpaid because of her gender.
In order the act to be termed as a sexual harassment, it must be pervasive or severe. This implies that only one incident may not be called sexual harassment unless it becomes very severe. Severe incidents that justify to be called sexual harassment include the rape which is done by force. The forceful gain into another persons sexual gains is a violating of criminal gains. This reasoning holds that although the single sexually suggestive statement may offend a person, it may not qualify to be called as sexual harassment
A number of minor contiguous incidents may add up to what may be called sexual harassment especially if these minor events lead to low performance at work place. Basically, in order to know if an incident is sexual assault or not, it is proper to judge in the number of times the incident occurred and how long the incident has been occurring. The consideration of how many other persons have been sexually harassed in the same environment is also taken into account (Crounch, 2001). In working environment, the denial of promotion, provision of a demotion, poor performance evaluation or the reassignment of a person to a lower position because of the rejection of sexual favors is automatically a sexual harassment.
The conduct will be a sexual abuse at work place even when the conduct will not have led to nay economic injury or the job status of an individual. The reason why this may be termed as a best example of abuse is because the conduct may unjustly interfere with the work performance of an individual or sometimes creating a work environment that is offensive, hostile and intimidating. It becomes illegal when such sexual harassments like making repeated sexual comments lead to discomfort to an extent the work performance is highly affected. Sexual harassment is unlawful and the laws that are enacted in different states are meant to protect the people against sexual abusers particularly at workplaces (Slade, 2001). It should be understood that both men and women are all affected by sexual harassment. Any person of the opposite sex can harass another person making it possible for women to harass men although cases like these have been underreported.
In the United States, the Californian State Law forbids sexual harassment acts for instance the Californian Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) makes illegal the actions of sexual harassment at workplace and during recruitment of employees. The FEHA in California applies to especially the private public employers, labor organizations, employment agencies, state and local government as well as the state licensing boards. These employers have one or more employees. The Act provides for the protection against sexual harassment of the people who provide services according to a contract. The federal law on the other hand prohibits any form of sexual harassment occurring at the workplace (Williams, 2000). This provision is given under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Act makes specific type of employers to be accountable for stopping and preventing incidences of sexual harassment occurring at workplace. It applies also to the public and private employers, apprenticeship programs of joint employer-unions, employment agencies and labor organizations with more than 15 employees.
There are other states laws that make some sex discrimination and other forms of sexual harassment illegal. These laws provide that each person is has a right to equal benefits without judging on gender especially. In states such as California, there are a number of Equal Rights Advocates who assist the civilians in finding support from their local attorneys. The problem of sexual harassment has over the past decades been based on gender disparity. This fact suggests that there is correlation between gender factors and the actual events happening during the sexual harassments. This form of scenario is called gender-based sexual harassment. The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) defines gender based harassment as the act which in most cases results to sexual, physical or psychological harm or painful experiences in women (Francis, 2000). The Convention includes the arbitrary denying of freedom and the coercion among the family, community and the public in general in its definition.
Under gender-based sexual harassment, the subjective experience of the targeted person is given much emphasis. It is the target person who cans identify if the action was welcome or unwelcome. These actions include rape, battery and mockery which may be evident in a number of laws. These actions have curtailed the efforts for especially women to develop in a male dominated areas and professions which make it difficult for civilization.
The general perception of the aspect of gender difference has increased the problem of sexual harassment. The mode of thinking which tries to generalize the idea that women are inferior has amplified the problem over a long period of time until the modern days. It is time such disparities diminish and judge everyone as an equal entity. Women are discriminated in technical roles such as engineering and mathematics. This discriminations that starts earlier in a girl childs life and does not end easily-it continues until the employment time.
Women have been sexually harassed in the name of being granted with employment, receiving promotions or getting an increased salary pay. Although these women deserve such promotions and salary increases as a result of their due excellent performance, they have been underestimated by their seniors. In a scenario like this, the women are forced to give in to having sex with their bosses and earn a promotion. However, not all women may easily give in to such promises from their bosses, some will better remain at the state they are than break their matrimonial agreements with their husbands (Meta, Zavoina, 1999). With a lot of anger from the boss as a result of the rejection of the offer by the female employee, the boss decides to rush insults that are of sexual nature and sometimes making sure that he gets a forced access to the womans body by raping her.
As a result of gender, the woman who duly deserved to be promoted is denied her rights. Instead, the woman may end up losing her job or her salary being decreased in order to make her realize of the step and decisions she had made to refuse the offer from the boss. Perhaps it is right to relate the case of a woman who accepts the bosss proposal. The boss will use her and finally after gaining what he wanted, he will still threaten her of demotions. This makes this woman to be under the boss in an excessive way to be modified to nay manner the boss wants.
There is peace in getting a promotion where one justly deserves. The woman having been promoted as a result of her giving sexual favors to the boss trembles all time as she never qualified for the positions. What brings her to the top, where she is, is the sexual favor she offered to the boss and not her intellect. Perhaps, with her intellect, she may have the girths to stand before the manager or the boss to question of her rights (Hodgson, Kelly, 2002). Unfortunately, the woman at the top because of her sexual favor is down to the earth, always kneeling when the boss speaks. She becomes malleable to all the conditions set by the boss.
The problem of gender-based sexual harassment has been augmented due to the position the community puts the women in al circles. In learning institutions, the problem is not any lighter, female students have been made to fail in some modules because of not giving in the lectures and professors requests. The trend begins at very earliy stsges and advances and grows enormously like a cancer that spread to all organs and finally the patents succumbs to it. Things must change and the state leaders should not sit back and watch as this serious cancer overwhelms the world and turns it into an ugly skunk. The problem has solutions, and the solution begins from an individual (George, 2009). However, the individual has been cultured in a manner which he sees the woman as an inferior being somebody not comparable to him. For life, this man will grow up to know this and nothing will change him.
There seems to be a solution of gender-based sexual harassment. The solution lies in the general thinking about the issue of gender disparity. While this should bring an effect to institutions of employment and majority of learning institutions, the problems should be tackled at grass-root level. The inculcating the minds of the young with the mind of sensitivity to gender parity brings the whole problem to be complex. Children should be taught to be equal to everyone with their gender not withstanding. There is an increasing need to integrate gender violence and gender harassment since they seem to be playing synergistic role in rotting the society. Therefore, the issues of sexual harassment and gender violence have to be incorporated into the mainstream learning, teaching and research activities so as to find a faster solution. In addition, the problem will find a way of being addressed in an open way. This observation is viable due to the fact that these issues have been hidden over a long time (Jeffreys, 1997). The victims of sexual harassment have been living with fear of being victimized after following the event of reporting.
Another very strong strategy of curbing the problem of sexual harassment is to ensure that there are materials which contain relevant information that raise awareness of the issues of gender-based violence in academic institutions, areas where there are visitors parlor and places where there are students as well as other stakeholders. At the same time, institutions should be at the forefront of raising awareness and also sensitize the key players on matters related to gender-based harassment.
In research institutes, companies and other organizations, it is the responsibility of the leaders to ensure gender issues are well addressed and every individual is fully aware of the consequences of drawing lines of disparity between the males and the female. Although at this stage the problem is already at advanced stages, it can be solved with the input of sufficient effort by the members of the staff and the administrators in general. The staff can discuss the issue together and ensure that the message is spread among the members of the staff. After one organizations gets to know about this important aspect, it can betaken as a social problem and spread the information to others (Williams, 2000). This is the best way companies can take up moral responsibilities.
In schools, colleges and universities, the cancer is similar much of the efforts should be invested in the instilling the morals of the young people in these institutions. Failure to transform the college and school students makes no change to the society as these groups are the determinants of how the society will run. It then becomes a moral duty for teachers, school administrator and the lectures and professors to step in and fight the ever growing problem of sexual harassment. It may have to start with the administrators, the leaders and all that are in charge of the institutions for them to create an example to the young people. These strategies can work and transform a society to its sobriety state (George, 2009).
In general terms, the sexual harassment is a form of problem that happens in communities and institutions without the people giving it the weight it deserves. It should then be made clear that this is a problem that needs urgent action before the society rots down into useless humus. It requires everyones action from the young to the old. The students and the teachers, including the lectures and professors need to join efforts in this fight. It requires a combat group to fully eliminate its effects in the society. After fully eliminating the problem of sexual harassment, the society can then grow in harmony and equality. Children will know that they are equal regardless to their gender. The job promotion will be done without bias but as per the merit of individuals.
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