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Research Project Report
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Sexual Harassment
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8/8/2015
Victoria Soria, Stephanie Diaz Escareno
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It is true that the topic of sexual harassment in the workplace has acquired more attention
in the most recent years. It is also true that most employers and employees are not totally aware
of the policies and what actions and language can be consider sexual harassment. One can
questioned how should people get educated on sexual harassment and how to prevent it from
happening. We can also try to understand the reason why sexual harassment is unethical.
We first have to look at what has been done, what is working, and what needs to be
implemented.
Let’s start by defining what sexual harassment is. The Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission recognizes sexual harassment as unlawful to harass a person (an applicant or
employee) because of that person’s sex. Sexual harassment or unwelcome sexual advances,
requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature. Sexual
harassment is unwelcome and unacceptable sexual behavior as physical, verbal, visual, and nonverbal that affect work environment. Sexual harassment can present in different ways. Sexual
harassment cases are not always when men harass women it can also be women harassing men or
the harassment can be coming from the same sex. The harasser can be a person in upper
management position as well as a colleague, an employee in a different department, and even
someone not employed in the organization. A person who is not harassed, but is offended by the
sexual harassment behavior can also be consider a victim of sexual harassment. Sexual
harassment charges are now the 4th most frequent allege discrimination issue brought before the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Sexual harassment is something that everyone
should be educated on. There is a thin line between what some people consider right and what
others might find to be wrong and offensive.
There are two types of sexual harassment: Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment and Hostile
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Environment Sexual Harassment. Quid pro quo sexual harassment occurs when an employee
gets on the promotion track or even gets to keep his/her job is based on if the employee
submitted to or rejected sexual advances or other types of inappropriate sexual comments. For
example, if a supervisor were to tell an employee she would be more likely to be promoted if she
dressed sexier, that would be considered quid pro quo sexual harassment. Hostile environment
sexual harassment occurs when a co-worker or supervisor in the workplace makes sexual
advances or comments to an employee that, while not affecting promotions or the future of the
employee's job, makes the working environment of the employee offensive and hostile. In
general, the comments tend to affect the employee's ability to do her job. Some instances of
hostile environment sexual harassment can be:

Personal questions of a sexual nature

Vulgarities and other offensive language

Physical conduct that is sexual or degrading to any reasonable person

Any sexually explicit or offensive pictures or literature that is in plain site of other
Employees
The law specifies that if an employer has been notified of a sexual harassment case and does not
take the necessary actions that need to take place, the harasser as well as the employer are legally
responsible for the sexual harassment incident. As mentioned previously sometimes a who is not
harassed, but is offended by the sexual harassment behavior can also be consider a victim of
sexual harassment and is able to file a claim against the harasser.
Sexual harassment is illegal and unethical. It violates an individual’s right. It violates the
Freedom of Thought, this freedom allows all citizens to have their own opinions, values, beliefs
in other words the right to have their own ethical views. We know that sexual harassment is
against the law and knowing how to report sexual harassment is essential. You can start by
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reviewing your Employee Handbook and/or Collective Bargaining Agreement. In the Employee
Handbook you can find the internal procedures of the organization you are working for on how
to report sexual harassment. You can also find to whom you can report the harassment. Make
sure you review the procedures carefully. Sometimes if not most sexual harassment victims have
mixed emotions, from anger to embarrassment and even fear. The procedures and policies ensure
you that you are protected by the law and that the organization encourages open communication
and transparency. Once you know who you can report the harassment to, make sure is a person
who is not involve in the harassment. Requesting a face-to-face meeting can be intimidating, but
very necessary for the process. Usually a face-to-face meeting with the person with whom you
are reporting the harassment will help you take it all out and not leave details out of the
incident/s. Tell your story exactly how things occur and point out if you have any witnesses to
support it. Sometimes the person you are reporting the incident to will request for the offender to
be present so you can confront them . A meeting will also provide you with updates on the
investigation. It is imperative to keep everything if not mostly everything in writing. Always
keep copies for your own records in case things get worse or no action is taken. E-mails are a
good way to keep everything documented. Make sure you follow up on the investigation. You
have to know the updates on the case. Know that in a case where nothing changes or things get
worse you can contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
One can questioned if sexual harassment is preventable. We have to believe that it is
preventable. A statistic states that asking the offender to STOP worked 68% of the time for the
women who tried it. The statistic shows that while more than half of the time the offender
stopped the harassment there is still a lot of work to do. Therefore we should get educated.
Another statistic done by Aware Research 68% of workers were not aware of any policies on
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sexual harassment. We conducted an interview with a manager of a local organization to find out
what their company has done to inform or educate their employees on sexual harassment. Their
company has posted the anti-harassment policy in their break room and can also be found in the
employee manual. Their company takes sexual harassment allegations seriously. They
understand that sexual harassment is illegal and unacceptable. Retaliation against a colleague for
making complaint or participating in an investigation is severely punished. The manager assure
us that they have a zero tolerance sexual harassment policy and any employee who has been
found to have violated the company’s harassment policy or who has failed to report a violation of
the policy, will be subjected to disciplinary actions, up to and including immediate termination
from employment. The manager also assure us that any employee with concerns of any type
including sexual harassment should always feel free to bring forward any questions or concerns
to the Human Resources department. Organizations are trying, but with these statistics we know
there is room for improvement. Sexual harassment prevention can be done with education, but
most of the time it is common sense and respect that can ultimate prevent these incidents from
occurring. Self respect and respect to others is definitely a good way to prevent sexual
harassment. Employees should feel comfortable when speaking up about the issue. Management
can help the employees by having an open and ethical communication with its employees.
Sexual harassment affects more people than just its victim. We are all responsible to prevent it
and create awareness.
Establishing policies against sexual harassment was a good way to start a movement. We
now need to create awareness and be more involve in the current trainings most organizations
offered and even updating them if necessary. Sexual harassment creates serious issues for the
victims and in the workplace. Sexual harassment decreases job satisfaction, drop in work
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performance, and creates high employee turnover. We strongly believe that the work
environment should be sexual harassment FREE and we should take all reasonable steps
necessary to prevent it from happening. Ultimately it is about self respect and respect to others.
Sexuality is a private matter if a person does not want to display, talk, or share anything about it
than that person should be respected and not be punished about it. It is about professionalism and
being ethical.
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Sources
Sexual Harassment. (n.d.). Retrieved August 8, 2015, from
http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/sexual_harassment.cfm
Types of Sexual Harassment. (n.d.). Retrieved August 8, 2015, from
http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/types-of-sexual-harassment.html
How To Report Sexual Harassment at Work | Uncategorized - Law Office of Kevin Schwin.
(n.d.). Retrieved August 8, 2015, from http://www.schwinlaw.com/uncategorized/how-toreport-sexual-harassment-at-work