Sexual harassment in the workplace: Part II
Workers share strategies on reporting and prevention.
Recent headlines about sexual harassment have brought the issue back to the forefront. The conversation about sexual harassment may go quiet every now and then in the media, but it never dies down online. There are dozens of hashtags that discuss the issue. And it is global. It’s an abusive power that can be used on someone based on their gender, race or sexual orientation that can result in adverse employment decisions, like the victim being fired or demoted.
And statistically members of the LGBTQ community are one of the most discriminated demographics in workplaces around the world – facing harassment, abuse, underemployment and joblessness.
What is sexual harassment? In the United States the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) defines it as “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature.”
The United Nations says between 40 and 50 percent of women in European Union countries “experience unwanted sexual advances, physical contact or other forms of sexual harassment at work.” In Brazil, sexual harassment can be a crime for the employee who commits it, but only a civil matter for the employer. Sexual harassment in India is illegal, but a recent study found that 70 percent of working women don’t report incidents for fear of repercussion.
In the second part of this Stream conversation, guests share their strategies for reporting and prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace.
On this episode of The Stream, we speak with:
Oriana Castro Ramirez @ogghiana
Former copywriter
Bisi Alimi @bisialimi
Director, Bisi Alimi Foundation
bisialimifoundation.org
Rashima Kwatra @OutRightIntl
Communications Officer, OutRight
outrightinternational.org
Emily Martin @nwlc
General Counsel and Vice President for Workplace Justice, National Women’s Law Center
nwlc.org
Humberto Carolo @whiteribbon
Managing Director, White Ribbon
whiteribbon.ca
What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.