Sexual harassment - attitudes and behaviors
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Asking for sexual favors, physical or verbal conduct which are sexual in nature, creating a hostile and offensive environment at workplace is seen as sexual harassment according to law. |
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Sexual harassment is not just limited to women. Even men can be victims of sexual harassment. At times, sexual harassment can be between people of same sex.
In sexual harassment, the harasser can be a supervisor, an agent, a co-employee or a non-employee. While the victim of sexual harassment can be anyone who is harassed by the behaviour.
If you are a victim of sexual harassment, you should make note of the place, date and time when the incident took place. You should also check to see whether there were any witnesses to the incident and jot down their names and designations. It is imperative that you note down all the minor details of the incident as they can prove to be useful.
You should firmly tell the harasser to stop the offensive conduct immediately. If after this, the sexual harassment continues, you should report the person to the appropriate authorities.
You can file an application for sexual harassment with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commotion (EEOC) or if your workplace has a department that deals with this issue, you can notify them of the sexual harassment you are facing.
If your employer knows of the sexual harassment and does nothing to stop the actions, you have all the rights to file a case against him / her. However, if your employer has not created a policy to stop offensive behaviour at workplace, you cannot hold him / her liable nor can you blame your employer for the offensive behaviour.
If you are a victim of sexual harassment, you should take the appropriate steps to ensure that the harasser is punished for his / her behaviour. You have every right to do so.
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