Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Essay Example For Students

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Essay Obviously, it is a very natural thing for men and women to be attracted to each other in sexual ways. Men, more than women, have been historically known to be far more aggressive in their advances toward women sexually and it varies from each woman as to how these aggressive advances make them feel. Advances such as whistling, bottom pinching and glaring are the types of things some men do to women in an attempt to show they are sexually attracted to them. These types of advances can be attempted just about anywhere; the beach, the mall, in night clubs, walking down the street, or even in their place of employment. Where should the line be drawn as to where these advancements are appropriate and what can a woman do to protect herself from feeling uncomfortable while trying to make a living? Women experiencing this type of treatment is a real problem in the workplace today and has been for many years. Sometimes, they even face a choice between their jobs and their own safety. There has been a great deal of debate on sexual harassment in the last few years. What exactly constitutes sexual harassment? There are many arguments of this nature. Many people think sexual harassment is something other than what it really is. Many people agree on the pro quo form of sexual harassment (sexual advances, requesting sexual favors, etc.. ). However, the hostile working environment harassment is still under great debate. This type of harassment is done when the workplace is full of discriminatory intimidation, ridicule, and insult. It can make people feel very uncomfortable and is often less easy to recognize. This is where the law gets tricky. If the victim does not perceive the environment to be hostile, then it is not a violation of the law. One must look at the whole picture. This leads to many questions however. Is it okay to tell off-color jokes? What is unwelcome? When is conduct based on sex? Are employees allowed to flirt on the job? What happens when someone gets offended? Who decides what is appropriate? Should employees be required to tolerate some behavior but not another? Today, courts will more likely find an illegal hostile environment present when the workplace includes sexual propositions, pornography, extremely vulgar language, sexual touching, degrading comments, or embarrassing questions or jokes. There are many examples of court cases which back this up. (1) In Hall v. Gus Construction Co. , a construction company had hired three woman to work at road construction sites. Male co-workers continually subjected these women to verbal sexual abuse. One woman even developed a skin reaction to the sun which the men immediately labeled Herpes. The women often found obscenities written in the dust on their co-worker. Male co-workers continuously asked the women for sexual favors. IN addition to the verbal abuse, the women were constantly subjected to offensive and unwelcome physical contact. On one occasion, the men help up one of the female employees so that the driver of a truck could touch her. The men subjected all three women to other types of abuse including mooning them, showing them pornographic pictures, and urinating in their water bottles and automobile gas tanks. The companys supervisor was well aware of all of these activities. The court found this conduct violated Title Vii because it was unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature, even though it did not contain explicit sexual overtones. (Roberts, Mann) (2) In Robinson v. Jacksonville Shipyards, Inc. , a shipyard company employed a female welder who was continually subjected to nude and partially nude pictures posted by her male co-workers. The men also referred to the victim as baby, sugar, momma, and dear. In addition, the men wrote obscene graffiti directed at the victim all over the plant. The victim complained about this atmosphere of harassment on a number of occasions, but the companys supervisory personnel provided little or no assistance. The court found this conduct violated Title VII because the plaintiff belonged to a protected category, was subject to unwelcome sexual harassment, the harassment was based on sex, it affected a term or condition of her employment, and the employer knew or should have known about the harassment and failed to take remedial action. (Roberts, Mann) (3) In .