In 2017, the #Metoo movement swept through the U.S. bringing a renewed focus on sexual harassment in workplaces, but protections were before that.
In the late 1980s, the Supreme Court interpreted Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include discrimination based on “sex” as sexual harassment in the workplace. The law recognizing sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination applies to private employers with 15 or more employees and government and labor organizations: the victim and the harasser may be a woman or a man. The victim does not have to be of the opposite sex from the harasser.
The harasser may be the victim’s supervisor, an agent of the employer, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or a non-employee, such as a vendor or a customer. The victim does not have to be the person harassed but could be anyone affected by the offensive conduct. Unlawful sexual harassment may occur without economic injury to or discharge the victim, and the harasser’s conduct must be unwelcome.
Sexual harassment is a common problem affecting all women in this world, irrespective of the profession that they are in, but the legal system is sleeping. So they fail in providing them security. It’s not all; women living in those countries that have developed legal systems face other problems like being fired out of work, ridiculed, societal pressure or promises of desired promotion, etc., which leaves them left with no words. Sexual harassment is about male dominance over women, and it is used to remind women that they are weaker than men.
In a society where violence against women is posed to show the patriarchal value operating in the community, these values of men pose the most significant challenge in curbing sexual harassment. Studies have shown that 1 out of every three working women is touched by sexual harassment. Every country is facing this problem today. No female worker is safe, and a sense of security is lacking. There are certain developments in the laws of many countries to protect women workers from sexual harassment. During 2007 alone, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and related state agencies received 12,510 new charges of sexual harassment on the job.
Sexual harassment in the workplace
