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Sexual Harassment affects all
women in some form or the other.
Lewd remarks, touching,
wolf-whistles, “looks” are part
of any woman’s life, so much so
that it is dismissed as normal.
Working women are no exception.
In fact, working women most
commonly face the backlash, to
women taking new roles, which
belong to male domains
especially in the organized
sector. In the unorganized
sector also it is widely
prevalent. Studies have shown
that sexual harassment is still
endemic, often hidden, and
present in all kinds of
organisations. 40-60% working
women face harassment at working
places. |
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The
problem |
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Revathi worked as Secretary to
Ramanatham, the chairman of an
export promotion council. He
asked her to accompany him to
the business centre of a five
star hotel. At the business
centre, he tried to sit too
close to X and touch her and did
not give up even after she
protested. He also tried to
molest her in the elevator.
Janaki did not reciprocate
Vijay’s love and avoided him.
She began to receive crank calls
from him and later from his
friends/co-workers. She started
feeling very uncomfortable in
the presence of vijay and her
colleagues and her participation
in official/non official
gathering gradually reduced. Her
lack of participation is being
noticed by her senior and her
performance was getting
affected.
Rithika working in an MNC avoids
sexual advances from her
manager. As a result she is
given disproportionate amounts
of work and is ultimately
bypassed by her junior male
colleague for promotion. When
she protests, the boss blatantly
tells her that “everything is in
her hands only” |
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The problem |
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Subjects another person to an
unwelcome act of physical
intimacy, like grabbing,
brushing, touching, pinching etc |
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Makes an unwelcome demand or
request (whether directly or by
implication) for sexual favours
from another person, and further
makes it a condition for
employment/payment of
wages/increment/promotion etc. |
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Makes an unwelcome remark with
sexual connotations, like
sexually explicit
compliments/cracking loud jokes
with sexual connotations/ making
sexist remarks etc.
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Shows a person any sexually
explicit visual material, in the
form of
pictures/cartoons/pin-ups/calendars/screen
savers on computers/any
offensive written
material/pornographic e-mails/sms
etc. |
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It is sexual harassment if a
supervisor requests sexual
favours from a junior in return
for promotion or other benefits
or threatens to sack for
non-cooperation. It is also
sexual harassment for a boss to
make intrusive inquiries into
the private lives of employees,
or persistently ask them out.
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It is sexual harassment for a
group of workers to joke and
snigger amongst themselves about
sexual conduct in an attempt to
humiliate or embarrass another
person. |
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If anyone displays too much
interest in your sex life (or
lack there of) and persistently
asks you questions or makes
remarks of a personal nature. |
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What an employer can/need to do |
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First and foremost, acknowledge
that it is your legal
responsibility to provide safe
working environment for women
free from sexual harassment and
discrimination and that you can
be held liable for sexual
harassment by employees. |
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Know
that sexual harassment can have
a devastating effect upon the
health, confidence, morale and
performance of those affected by
it. The anxiety and stress
produced by sexual harassment
commonly leads to those
subjected to it taking time off
work due to sickness, being less
efficient at work, or leaving
their job to seek work
elsewhere. |
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Understand the reasons why women
remain silent about sexual
harassment. An absence of
complaints about sexual
harassment does not necessarily
mean an absence of sexual
harassment. It may mean that the
recipients of sexual harassment
think that there is no point in
complaining because: |
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Nothing will be done
about it |
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It will be trivialised |
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The complainant will be
subjected to ridicule |
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They fear reprisals |
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Recognise the tangible and
intangible expenses and losses
organisations experience |
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Costly investigation and
litigation |
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Negative exposure and
publicity |
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Embarrassing depositions
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Increased absenteeism
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Lowered employee morale
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Reduced productivity
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Decreased efficiency
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Higher employee turn
over |
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Erosion of
organisation’s brand
names, goodwill, and
public image
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Negative impact on stock
price |
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The best way to prevent sexual
harassment is to adopt a
comprehensive sexual harassment
policy. The aim is to ensure
that sexual harassment does not
occur and, where it does occur,
to ensure that adequate
procedures are readily available
to deal with the problem and
prevent its recurrence. |
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What
Steps Can women Employees Take
To Prevent Sexual Harassment?
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Identify/Recognise
Harassment |
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Ask yourself the following:
- Do I agree to the behaviour?
- Does the behaviour make me uncomfortable?
- Does the behaviour violate my dignity as an
individual?
- Does it violate my right to work in dignity in a safe
working environment? |
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Do not blame yourself. Don't
ignore sexual harassment in the
hope that it will go away.
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Do the unexpected: Name the
behavior. Whatever he's just
done, say it, and be specific.
Hold the harasser accountable
for his actions. Don't make
excuses for him; don't pretend
it didn't really happen. Take
charge of the encounter and let
people know what he did. Privacy
protects harassers, but
visibility undermines them.
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Make honest, direct statements.
Speak the truth (no threats, no
insults, no obscenities, no
appeasing verbal fluff and
padding). Be serious, straight
forward, and blunt. |
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Demand that the harassment stop |
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Make it clear that all women
have the right to be free from
sexual harassment. Don't respond
to the harasser's excuses or
diversionary tactics |
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His behavior is the issue. Say
what you have to say, and repeat
it if he persists. Reinforce
your statements with strong,
self-respecting body language
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End the interaction on your own
terms, with a strong closing
statement: 'You heard me. Stop
harassing women' |
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If you decide to file charges
later |
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1. Keep records:
Keep track of what happens in a
journal or diary and keep any
letters or notes or other
documents you receive. Write
down the dates, times, places,
and an account of what happened.
Write down the names of any
witnesses.
2. Write a letter.
People have successfully stopped
sexual harassment by writing a
letter detailing the behaviour
that is offensive and asking the
person who is harassing them to
stop the behaviour. The letter
should be polite, unemotional,
and detailed. Such a letter
seems to be more powerful than a
verbal request. The recipient of
the letter seldom writes back;
the person usually just stops
the behaviour.
3. Set your own
boundaries: Say "NO"
emphatically and clearly when
you are asked to go places, do
things, and respond to
questions, or engage in
situations that make you
uncomfortable. Do not worry
about offending the other person
or hurting his or her ego. Take
care of yourself first.
4. Be aware of situations
and people who may harm you:
Don't ignore other's warnings
about particular people or
social settings. Acknowledge
their concern for you and for
themselves.
5. Take a colleague or
sympathetic senior into
confidence so that you have
reliable witness to stand up for
you when it comes down to your
word against his.
6. Don’t confuse the
company with the individual.
Just because one person has made
life miserable for you, it
doesn’t mean that the company is
at fault.
7. If those in authority,
act against him swiftly and
firmly, then absolve them of
blame and move on.
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