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Sexual harassment within the workplace
Case studies in sexual harassment in the workplace
Sexual harassment within the workplace
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Sexual harassment in its most basic form is the unwanted sexual attention from someone in the workplace. The problem with sexual harassment is that it creates a hostile work environment, which slows or stops productivity and workforce cooperation. Other than the productivity, acquiring legal counsel and settlements are very expensive. The three articles examined cover current understandings of sexual harassment research, gender based harassment, and a thorough breakdown of the laws.
The APA ethics guidelines are well defined standards that psychologists are expected to follow to avoid the obvious legal and professional issues that follow such violations. “Standard 3.02 states that sexual harassment can be verbal or nonverbal solicitation, advances, or sexual conduct that occurs in connection with the psychologist’s activities or role as a psychologist. To meet the standard’s threshold for sexual harassment, behaviors have to be either so severe or intense that a reasonable person would deem them abusive in that context, or if the psychologist was aware or had been told their behavior was unwelcome, offensive, or creating a hostile workplace or educational environment (Fisher, 2013, p.93).” If there is a violation by a psychologist the first step is to bring the violation to their attention with an informal resolution, sit down and explain the violation and what their behavior should be in the future. If that does not work then a formal complaint needs to be filed with the APA or a state affiliate to address the issue. Whether it is a law firm, police station, or school where psychological research is conducted the problem of sexual harassment can infect all of these areas and the proper channels of authority should be notified ...
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... into harassment and bullying and every other counterproductive behavior will be what is needed to find the answer to stopping the problem. The only other option would be to use harsh punishments for those found guilty of these ethical violations.
Works Cited
Fisher, C.B. (2013) Decoding the ethics code: A practical guide for psychologists (3rd edition),
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Fisher, C. (2012). Sex, harassment and the workplace. Journal of Academic & Business Ethics
, Vol. 6, p.1-10.
Leskinen, E., Cortina, L., & Kabat, D. (2011) Gender Harassment: Broadening Our
Understanding of Sex-Based Harassment at Work. Journal of Law & Human Behavior.
Vol. 35 Issue 1, p.25-39.
McDonald, P. (2012) Workplace Sexual Harassment 30 Years on: A review of the literature.
International Journal of Management Reviews. Vol. 14 Issue 1 p.1-17
In Chapter 11 of William Shaw’s The Organization and the People in It goes over issue of sexual harassment in the workplace and its effects. Sexual harassment is defined as the “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature”, most reports of sexual harassment are from women accusing men however men accusing women is becoming more prevalent in todays society (Shaw, p.444). Sexual harassment is a moral issues because a person becomes a victim by means of verbal comments, gestures, or physical contact of a sexual nature and not being able to refuse them without fear that something worse will happen.
“Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conducts of a sexual nature constitute (are) sexual harassment when: (1) submission to (agree to) . . . or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individuals, or (2) such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile (threatening), or offensive working environment” (ENotes.com...
According to legal dictionary (2013), sexual harassment refers to any form of unwelcome sexual behavior or advances, appeals for sexual errands, and other form of physical or verbal conduct or behavior that portrays sex nature and tends to make the working environment offensive or hostile. Any behavior or remarks that take such forms constitute sexual harassment when: Compliance to such conduct happens either implicitly or explicitly based on employment of an individual, rejection or compliance to such conduct is used to make decisions during employment and when such conduct interferes or affects performance of a person at the workplace. Sexual harassment ta...
It is estimated that nine out of ten women will be victims of sexual advances at work. The courts are making it easier to hold a company liable for any sexual harassment behavior that occurs within the workplace. The employer does not even need to know that the sexual harassment is taking place for an employee to file a suit and win. It is almost impossible to find a ?solution? or ?magic key? that will end the problem. There is no guarantee that anything will prevent sexual harassment from happening. There are only suggestions that might help in depleting the problem.
Sexual Harassment is a prohibited conduct of inappropriate behavior in which an individual makes unwelcome sexual favors, requests, or any other form of verbal or physical acts in a sexual nature in which it creates a hostile environment to work in. any form of harassment that hinders or interferes with an employee’s work should be taken seriously and will not be tolerated.
Sexual harassment is unwelcome behavior of a sexual nature that makes someone feel uncomfortable or unwelcome by focusing attention on their gender (http://www.de.psu.edu/harassment/whatif/). There are many different forms of sexual harassment including sexual comments, jokes, gestures, looks, pictures, photos, illustrations, messages, and rumors. Other forms such as calling gay or lesbian, spy on people dressing, flash or moon, touch or grab sexually, pull at clothes, corner in sexual way, or force to do something sexual are also forms of sexual harassment(Parrot 2).
gives all of us the right to be treated fairly and to take action if
Sexual harassment is so ordinary in the workforce that frequently we fail to even recognize harassing behavior as immoral. This is because so many of us--women and men alike--have become desensitized to offensive behaviors. Sexual harassment in any form is unacceptable behavior and should not be tolerated by anyone. It undermines our ability to study, to work, and to feel like effective, empowered people in the world.
THESIS STATEMENT: In today’s society 40 percent of the nation’s 55 million working women have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace.
Each year many people first become aware of sexual harassment when they are harassed in the workplace. Today in the United States there still seems to be a need for general information about sexual harassment. Many people are unaware of exactly what sexual harassment is, how it affects its victims, where it happens, and what to do if it happens to them. There are many laws that protect people from sexual harassment and provide them with information about what to do if you should ever be in this situation (Wyatt, 2000).
...tention, sexual advances, and requests for sexual favors and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.’ In general, sexual harassment refers to conduct that can be reasonably considered unwelcome or personally offensive” (“Sexual Harassment,” WAGE). Legality comes into play when harassment is so frequent that it creates a hostile work environment or when it results in the victim being punished. The harasser can be anyone in the workplace and can even include offensive comments about women in general (“Sexual Harassment,” U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). In legal terms, sexual harassment can generally be classified as either quid pro quo or hostile work environment (“Sexual Harassment,” WAGE). While various people try to doubt that sexual harassment is an issue, it remains a pressing issue harming women in today’s society and workforce.
KANE-URRABAZO, C. (2007). Sexual harassment in the workplace: it is your problem. Journal Of Nursing Management, 15(6), 608-613. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2834.2007.00725.x
To conclude sexual harassment is a tremendously huge issue that should be taken seriously. The only solution for tackling this situation is to speak up when this situation happen to someone. Encourage the victim of sexual harassment to come forward and report to proper authority as soon as possible. The longer the victim waits, the less probability that it will be corrected. If there is someone out there that had been victim of harassment confront the person regarding the situation. Call for help and consult with local HR representative or appropriate authority. Do not become part of the statistics of such shameful acts. Get help! Finally, sexual harassment laws must be strengthened in order to fix what has become a serious problem today in the workplace in order to avoid having more victims.
My personal experiences aren’t exactly direct, but it gave me a firsthand view on how this issue is sometimes hard to recognize but very prominent in society today. Studies show that being sexually harassed can affect and devastate your psychological health, physical well-being and vocational development. Therefore, it’s better to be aware of the history, and behavioral concepts of this issue to avoid it from happening to you. Sexual harassment is a growing problem in today's workplace. The signs and causes of harassment are not always easy to detect.
In addition to legal measures, many governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations, and other bodies are using a range of techniques to prevent sexual harassment and help its victims. Governments, for example, issue guidance on how to design anti-sexual harassment measures and to offer counselling to workers who have been targeted. Workers’ and employers’ organizations are producing model policies and collective agreement clauses, issuing guidance on complying with laws, conducting research and providing training. At the workplace, growing numbers of employers are introducing sexual harassment policies and complaints procedures. Moreover, there appears to be an emerging consensus around what workplace policies should contain and the steps to be taken to implement them, which can be used by those employers who have yet to take action.