Evolution of sexual harassment in the workplace
Evolution of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
The term sexual harassment is usually used to refer to behaviour that is considered coercion that is inherently of a sexual nature. This behaviour can include verbal harassment that is of a sexual nature, unwelcome sexual advances towards an unwilling individual, physical harassment or requests for sexual favours from uninterested individuals in the wrong setting. Sexual harassment is a problem that has existed in America for a long time, and as such there are legal statutes that have been designed in an effort to protect innocent citizens from the vice. While some people may find sexual harassment to be a trifling or mildly annoying matter, psychological studies have shown that it can cause the victim to undergo significant stress that rivals the psychological problems brought about by occurrences such as rape. This study will examine the legal environment concerning sexual harassment at the workplace and how it has changed over time as well as the impact of technology on the vice as it exists today.
The workplace is one area of American social life where sexual harassment has been quite a big problem. The American constitution regards sexual harassment as a form of discrimination in the workplace. A harasser at the workplace can be an individual’s supervisor, a fellow employee or even another individual who is not part of the company altogether, such as a client or a customer. When an employee is exposed to sexual harassment at the workplace, the effect that it may have on him or her can vary depending on the person harassing them (Greenlaw & Lee, 1995). Harassment that is emanating from fellow employees will most likely be annoying for the victim, but when a superior is the one doing the harassing then the victim can be placed under a significant amount of pressure because he or she realises that they can lose their jobs if they do not conform to their superior’s demands. The amount of time that an employee is
The term sexual harassment is usually used to refer to behaviour that is considered coercion that is inherently of a sexual nature. This behaviour can include verbal harassment that is of a sexual nature, unwelcome sexual advances towards an unwilling individual, physical harassment or requests for sexual favours from uninterested individuals in the wrong setting. Sexual harassment is a problem that has existed in America for a long time, and as such there are legal statutes that have been designed in an effort to protect innocent citizens from the vice. While some people may find sexual harassment to be a trifling or mildly annoying matter, psychological studies have shown that it can cause the victim to undergo significant stress that rivals the psychological problems brought about by occurrences such as rape. This study will examine the legal environment concerning sexual harassment at the workplace and how it has changed over time as well as the impact of technology on the vice as it exists today.
The workplace is one area of American social life where sexual harassment has been quite a big problem. The American constitution regards sexual harassment as a form of discrimination in the workplace. A harasser at the workplace can be an individual’s supervisor, a fellow employee or even another individual who is not part of the company altogether, such as a client or a customer. When an employee is exposed to sexual harassment at the workplace, the effect that it may have on him or her can vary depending on the person harassing them (Greenlaw & Lee, 1995). Harassment that is emanating from fellow employees will most likely be annoying for the victim, but when a superior is the one doing the harassing then the victim can be placed under a significant amount of pressure because he or she realises that they can lose their jobs if they do not conform to their superior’s demands. The amount of time that an employee is
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