Ending Sexual Harassment !

It seems that sexual harassment in the workplace is much bigger than we have been led to believe.  A report by Women's Legal Services NSW makes the claim that one in every two women and one in four men experience sexual harassment that they are reluctant to report.

This report is titled  " Me Too.  Legal Responses to Sexual Harassment at Work " and claims  existing laws are failing to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.  It makes forty-five changes that are needed to regulate the use of confidentiality clauses in sexual harassment matters.   It says civil penalties are needed and the six month time limit on lodging a complaint should be extended to twelve months.The report also recommends amending the Fair Work act to expressly prohibit sexual harassment as a means of improving the present ratio of only one in five victims making a formal complaint.

There is no doubt that the recent outing of pressure for sex in exchange for plum movie roles in Hollywood brought sexual harassment into the open in a very big way.  Many people with power and prestige went into oblivion when they were publicly named and because of this women are more inclined to speak up when they encounter sexual pressure in the workplace.   The trouble is that some  sexual harassment is so subtle that they fear they will be disbelieved.

That is also a huge problem for management.   How do you accurately separate sexual harassment from the normal good humour between men and women working together in the workplace  ?   There is always risk when what can be termed " office romances " come to an end but they are a fact of life in the society in which we live. Any sort of compliment can be construed as a sexual advance if the intent is misunderstood.

Management can certainly come to terms with overt sexual harassment.   The telling of off colour jokes and similar subject discussion can be clearly banned and it is important that men and women working together should feel comfortable that adequate supervision is in place.  It is important that any complaint be treated quickly, openly and with a logical conclusion that is both fair and consistent.

It is quite evident that we still have a long way to go before sexual harassment disappears from the work place and human nature  ensures that will never totally happen.  The distribution of power will always give one person an advantage and sex is a driving force that produces strange conduct in both genders.

At least we are heading in the right direction.  Sexual harassment is becoming less flagrant and covered by more laws.  Both genders are now more vocal with their complaints.