Sexual Harassment In The Military

Sexual harassment in the Military

Sexual Harassment is a consistent problem in the workplace for decades. Despite efforts to reduce its occurrence, it continues to be one of the most common forms of workplace abuse. It is not a gender neutral issue but definitely some groups, like women are affected more than others. Sexual harassment can happen to anyone at any time and often it is not reported for many reasons. Some people think that ignoring the behavior will make it go away, however many times it encourages the oppressor and gives them a green lite. There are a lot of misunderstanding and myths about sexual harassment that misguide victims from taking the right steps. For example, many people believe that we live in modern times and sexual

But this is not true, sexual harassment is a problem that can be avoided, when confronted correctly in the first place. I will discuss how to confront this issue below. So let’s define sexual harassment since many times it is misinterpreted. Sexual harassment is defined is any unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that is sufficiently severe or pervasive, involves abuse of power in attempt to make sexual demands as a condition of employment. Which leads to producing a hostile or intimidating work environment.

Sexual harassment is an ugly truth in the workplace, which mentally and physically impact millions of Americans annually. Today I will focus on this issue in a specific organization, the United States military. Sexual harassment in the military is so ordinary that frequently we fail to even recognize it, as harassing and immoral behavior. This is because many of US military women have become desensitized to this offensive behaviors. According to

According to DoD, in 2012, 17.8% charges were filed by males compared to 82.2% charges filed by females and similarly in 2013, 17.6% charges filed by males Compared 82.4% charges were filed by females. These numbers are alarming and shocking and hence essential to be addressed. These states are the main reason why the military is in the spotlight for last couple of years, for failing to support victims and respond to and prevent sexual assault. Department of Defense estimates that “Sexual assault within the military continues to occur at alarming levels with 26,000 anonymously reported incidents in 2012 alone. During this same period, only 3,300 service members reported their assaults”. These facts expose the depth of the problem of military sexual assault and demand incisive actions. According to Caren Goldberg, “A smaller body of research has focused on the ways in which organizations can reduce the incidence of sexual harassment via training and policy implementation” (63). Sexual violence is a widespread social problem in our nation military and more research needs to be done in order to find accurate solution to this problem. It is absolutely imperative that the military organization and employees are educated and aware of this matter. According to Ilies that, “ approximately one half of working women experience