Sexual Harassment at The Workplace

IM ATTENTION TO THIS TOPIC BECAUSE IM FEMALE

Sexual harassment is one a part of osh issue at the workplace, and always happened to the female. Form the statistics, view the survey carried out in a number of industrialised countries showed that the proportions of female employees who had been subjected to sexual harassment in those countries ranged from 42% to 70%.Which means 10 out of 7 female workers were being sexually harassed in the workplace.

There is ample evidence everywhere that a high percentage of sexual harassment cases occurring in the workplace goes unreported. Due to embarrassment, helplessness and fear of being ridiculed or, worse still, of losing their jobs, most of the victims of sexual harassment were prevented from raising the problem and therefore had to suffer in silence.In Malaysia the unfortunate victims are presently facing distressing constraints to report sexual harassment because there is no established procedure to guide them how and where to report. At the enterprise level, very few employers have so far provided complaints or grievance procedure for reporting sexual harassment.

Sexual harassment adversely affects employee morale and job performance. It reduces productivity and increases the rate of sick leave and absenteeism among affected employees. Moreover, many female employees who face sexual harassment choose to resign from their jobs rather than fight or endure the offensive conditions. This results in a higher rate of employee turnover with all the associated costs in training and lost production. The greatest danger of sexual harassment is that when it goes unchecked it can spread throughout an organization like an infectious disease.Malaysia needs to have such national programme to ensure that our workplaces are free from offensive and intimidating environment caused by the spread sexual harassment.

The purpose of the Code of Practice is to provide practical guidance to employers, employees, trade unions and others relevant parties on the protection of the dignity of men and women at work. The aim is to ensure that sexual harassment does not occur and, if it does occur, to ensure that adequate procedures are available to deal with the problem and prevent its recurrence.

Trade unions should co-operate with employees in carrying out promotional and educational programmes for the employees and in the implementation of in-house mechanism to prevent and eradicate sexual harassment in the workplace. The inclusion of specific clauses on sexual harassment in collective agreements as a means of dealing with the problem jointly between the employers and the trade unions has become a common practice in the industrialized countries. Such practice should be encouraged in this country.

What is SEXUAL HARASSMENT?

Sexual harassment means: Any unwanted conduct of a sexual nature having the effect of verbal, non-verbal, visual,

psychological or physical harassment:

(i) that might, on reasonable grounds, be perceived by the recipient as placing a condition of a sexual nature on her/his employment; or

(ii) that might, on reasonable grounds, be perceived by the recipient as an offence or humiliation, or a threat to his/her well-being, but has no direct link to her/his employment

How many CATEGORIES of sexual harassment?

There are 2 categories:

(i) Sexual coercion – is sexual harassment that results in some direct consequence to the victim’s employment. An example of sexual harassment of this coercive kind is where a superior, who has the power over salary and promotion, attempts to coerce a subordinate to grant sexual favours. If the subordinate accedes to the superior’s sexual solicitation, job benefits will follow.

Conversely, if the subordinate refuses, job benefits are denied.

(ii) Sexual annoyance-is sexually-related conduct that is offensive, hostile or intimidating to the recipient, but nonetheless has no direct link to any job benefit. However, the annoying conduct creates a bothersome working environment which the recipient has to tolerate in order to continue working. A sexual harassment by an employee against a co-employee falls into this category. Similarly, harassment by a company’s client against an employee also falls into this category.

What do we mean by WORKPLACE?

Sexual harassment in the workplace includes any employment related sexual harassment occurring outside the workplace as a result of employment responsibilities or employment relationship. Situations under which such employment-related sexual harassment may take place includes, but is not limited to:

• at work-related social functions;

• in the course of work assignments outside the workplace;

• at work-related conferences or training sessions;

• during work-related travel;

• over the phone; and

• through electronic media

What are the FORMS of sexual harassment?

• verbal harassment : e.g. offensive or suggestive remarks, comments, jokes, jesting, kidding, sounds, questioning.

• non-verbal/gestural harassment : e.g. leering or ogling with suggestive overtones, licking lips or holding or eating food provocatively, hand signal or sign language denoting sexual activity, persistent flirting.

• visual harassment : e.g. showing pornographic materials, drawing sex-based sketches or writing sex-based letters, sexual exposure.

• psychological harassment : e.g. repeated unwanted social invitations, relentless proposals for dates or physical intimacy.

• physical harassment : e.g. inappropriate touching, patting, pinching, stroking, brushing up against the body, hugging, kissing, fondling, sexual assault

What should the employers do to COMBAT sexual harassment in the workplace ?

The employer should provide:

• a policy statement prohibiting sexual harassment in the organisation;

• a clear definition of sexual harassment;

• a complaints/grievance procedure;

• disciplinary rules and penalties against the harasser and against those who make false accusation;

• protective and remedial measures for the victim; and

• promotional and educational programmes to explain the company’s policy on sexual harassment and to raise awareness of sexual harassment and its adverse consequences among the company’s employees, supervisors and managers.

What are the REMEDIES available?

•To encourage victims to report sexual harassment, there should be adequate measures to ensure maximum confidentiality so as to minimise embarrassment to the victim especially at the time of reporting and in the course of investigation into the complaint.

•In a case where the victim of sexual harassment has suffered a loss, such as a demotion or a denial of a promotion, it is appropriate to restore such person to his or her proper position on the job.

•The victim should also be compensated for any monetary loss arising out of a denial of employment-related benefits which were rightfully due to him or her.

•Where the complaints is found to be unjustified and baseless, appropriate remedy should be granted to the accused person if there has been any loss suffered by such person.

POLICY STATEMENT PROHIBITING SEXUAL HARASSMENT

A policy statement on sexual harassment is a documented message from the management to the employees expressing the company's policy, philosophy and commitment to prevent and eradicate sexual harassment in order to create a positive and conducive working environment in the organization.

The policy statement should come from the top management to ensure its acceptance and compliance by the shop-floor employees, supervisors and managers throughout the organization.

The policy statement should contain at least the following matters:

(i) a declaration prohibiting sexual harassment in the organization:

(ii) a caution stating that sexual harassment constitutes a breach of the company's policy and will incur diciplinary actions up to and including dismissal;

(iii) a directive stating that supervisors and managers have a positive duty to implement the policy and to demonstrate leadership by example

COMPLAINT/GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

Although an effective preventive action and programme may be successful in deterring sexual harassment, but problems are bound to arise. Therefore, there is a necessity for the establishment of a complaint or grievance procedure to deal with each problem as and when it arises.

Due to of the sensitive and personal nature of sexual harassment complaints, employers should develop a separate complaint procedure to deal specifically with such complaints. The normal complaint procedure is often unsuitable for sexual harassment complaint.

A complaint procedure should provide measures to protect victims from further embarrassment in the course of reporting and investigation into the complaint.

A complaint procedure should contain at least the following elements:

(i) a step-by-step procedure for reporting and processing of a complaint with a suitable time-limit for each step;

(ii) an investigation procedure; and

(iii) an appeal procedure to enable dissatisfied party to appeal against the outcome of an investigation to a higher authority.

PROMOTIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMES

Prevention is the most effective tool and employer can use to eradicate sexual harassment in the workplace. Preventive action includes:

(i) Communication,

(ii) education, and

(iii) training.

Merely developing a corporate policy and preventive mechanism on sexual harassment is not sufficient. It is the dissemination of the policy and mechanism among the employees in the organization that is of paramount importance.

In addition to the need for communication, the employer should provide a programme by which employees and supervisors could be educated in the area of sexual harassment.

The employer should also provide special training sessions for supervisory and managerial staff to train them to recognize potential problem and learn how to deal with them as and when they arise. The necessity to provide training is much greater for those who are assigned to function as investigators and counsellors.

The lastly, if u involved with this situation what you can do?

Firtsly,

When you are deciding what to do, remember that every situation is different.There is no one best thing to do. You should always report the sexual harassment to your employer. You then have the option to use your company’s sexual harassment complaint process, file a charge with a state or federal agency, and/or go to court.

It is important to talk with a lawyer or legal services organization like Equal Rights Advocates to discuss your choices (see “Resources”).They can help you to understand your choices, their benefits and risks as well as the strengths and weaknesses of your case.

Say “No” Clearly

Tell the person that his/her behavior offends you. Firmly refuse all invitations.If the harassment doesn’t end promptly, write a letter asking the harasser to stop and keep a copy.

Write Down What Happened

As soon as you experience the sexual harassment, start writing it down.Write down dates, places, times, and possible witnesses to what happened.If possible, ask your co-workers to write down what they saw or heard, especially if the same thing is happening to them.Remember that others may (and probably will) read this written record at some point. It is a good idea to keep the record at home or in some other safe place.Do not keep the record at work.

Report the Harassment

Tell your supervisor, your human resources department or some other department or person within your organization who has the power to stop the harassment. If possible, tell them in writing. Keep a copy of any written complaint you make to your employer.It is very important that you report the harassment because your employer must know or have reason to know about the harassment in order to be legally responsible for a co-worker, client or customer’s actions. Even if your harasser was your supervisor, you may need to show that you reported the harassment to your employer or give a good reason why you didn’t.

Start a Paper Trail

When you report the sexual harassment to your employer, do it in writing.Describe the problem and how you want it fixed.This creates a written record of when you complained and what happened in response to it. Keep copies of everything you send and receive from your employer.

Use the Grievance Procedure at Work

Many employers and schools have policies for dealing with sexual harassment complaints. You may be able to resolve the problem through this process.To find out your employer’s policies, look in your employee manual/personnel policies and/or speak to a human resources officer. It is important to follow your employer’s procedures.

Involve your Union

If you belong to a union, you may want to file a formal sexual harassment complaint through the union and try to get a shop steward or other union official to help you work through the grievance process. Get a copy of your union’s grievance policy and see if it discusses the problems you are experiencing. If you use your union’s grievance procedure, you must still file a complaint with a government agency if you want to file a lawsuit in federal or state court.

File a Discrimination Complaint with a Government Agency

If you want to file a lawsuit in federal or state court, you must first file a formal sexual harassment complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and/or your state’s fair employment agency (in California, this is the Department of Fair Employment and Housing).(See “Resources” section for contact information.)If you are a federal employee, follow federal guidelines on how to lodge a sexual harassment complaint. You can obtain these guidelines from the Federal Labor Relations Authority.

File a lawsuit

After you file a formal complaint with the EEOC or your state’s fair employment agency, you can also consider filing a lawsuit.You can sue for money damages, to get your job back, and you can also ask the court to make your employer change its practices to prevent future sexual harassment from occurring.