A review of sexual harassment in the workplace

A review of familiar torture in the workplaceThe aim of this research scheme is to put forward a review of intimate bedevil manpowert at workplace. Sexual bedevilment is a course of action of sex discrimination that violates Human Rights to equality in workplace. It is indeed very unfortunate to accredit that such an surface is still happening in an unrestrained manner today.In this section, internal badgering allow for be first defined. Moreover, emphasis bequeath be laid on the main discern of this research, that is, sexual harassment at work. Finally, we will examine how and why harassment occurs and the possible solutions to combat this issue at the workplace. We ar tar crossing better understanding on how to offer up a holistic perspective to sexual harassment.Sexual harassment is a wrongful conduct. It should non be tolerated in the workplace. Sexual harassment refers to unwelcoming sexual behaviour. It includes bodily, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual n ature, unwanted sexual advances, sexist remarks, demands or requests for sexual favours and wake pornography. It is align that every individual has the right to life, liberty and equality. This is guaranteed by the countrys Constitution, which is interpreted to be the supreme law of that country. In the Mauritian Constitution for example, sections 3-19 foreground the protective covering of human fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual. Section 16 precisely protects individuals against discrimination. It is extremely important for employers as well as otherwise responsible mortals or institutions to observe certain guidelines to fix the prevention of sexual harassment at work. Indeed, to live with dignity is a human right guaranteed by our Constitution.It is the duty of the employer in work places to prevent or deter the Commission of acts of sexual harassment and to deliver the goods the procedure for the resolution, settlement or prosecution of acts of sexual har assment by taking all stairs required.Studies show that virtuallyly women are victims of sexual harassment and unfortunately very few seek restoration and little has received encouraging actions (Chaudhuri P. 2006). For instance, thither has been a case in India. In 1985 where a woman, named Shehnaz Sani had been discount from her job because of wilful negligence. In fact she had complained of sexual harassment from her employers. She was surely given legal protection and she was in addition given her previous job. On the other side, however, her harassers which in this case revealed to be her employers, appealed to the Bombay High Court. Consequently, they were granted a stay as well (Chaudhuri P. 2006 adapted from Staff reporter, Tribune, 7 December, 1998 Namita Devidayal,Times of India, 29 November 1998).Moreover, on that point is a nonher(prenominal) case where a female employee in a company in Hyderabad. She complained that she was cosmos repeatedly sexually harassed by her supervisor. Her case was being followed by a woman representative from the Head part of the company (based in the US). Indeed, the harassment was proved but unfortunately, the female employee was seen as a trouble maker. Consequently, she was compelled to resigned and she didi not even benefit from any m integritytary compensation. In fact, the harasser had great power, authority and influence and hence he was immune to all types of disciplinary committees. He continued to work in the same constitution (Chaudhuri P., 2006 adapted from Kumar, 2003). Moreover, it has been seen that complaints of harassment are very often dismissed as a trivial event and not officially recorded (Chaudhuri P., 2006 Adapted from Sanhita, 2006).As we can see, these cases prove the fact that among the few cases that women report, on that point is very less chance of obtaining po devolve onive support against sexual harassment. Moreover, the already existing committees deem not been up to(p) to p rove their efficiency- relevant actions are, most of time, not interpreted against the harasser, especially if he is influential.In this context, it is not wrong to say that laws should be designed against sexual harassment to protect the employee from the boss, from co-workers or even customers at work. In 2001, Mauritius had taken a step to combat sexual harassment. Indeed, on the 21 March, the Mauritian Minister, who was at the head of the Ministry of womens affairs and child development and family welfare had existencely promulgated a legislation to lower limitation against female sexual harassment. The aim was to break the silence on subjects which prevented the woman from enjoying her rights. The women were encouraged to reveal such acts. It is true that sex discrimination laws are very upshotive and in force(p) in keep back sexual harassment at the workplace.Sexual harassment can all be Qui Pro Quo or Hostile environment (Hunt C.M et al, 2008). Qui Pro Quo highlights t he fact that the harasser explicitly or implicitly make sexual request in exchange for some desired results. However, on the other side, hostile environment explains that sexual harassment occurs when the victim is faced with unwelcome conduct based on his or her sex. such(prenominal) behaviour can be verbal, non-verbal, visual, or physical. This creates an uncomfort fitting, intimidating, hostile, or offensive work or learning environment.Prevention is the most effective elan to deal with sexual harassment (Sung, 2008). Preventive measures include adopting sexual harassment policies provide training and establishing complaints processes. All these together process to curb the occurrence of sexual harassment at workplace. A company can also prevent sexual harassment by sponsoring trainings (Sung, 2008 adapted from Bordeaux 2002 Raphan Heeman, 1997). These training whitethorn help employees in dealing with sexual harassment and its consequences. Furthermore, the channel for complai nts encourages victims to complain and report and consequently, this will disapprove harassers from continuing with their unwanted behaviours.Problem statementIt is true that no occupation or profession is rubber eraser from sexual harassment (Kim and Kleiner, 1999). Sexual harassment continues to be a prevalent issue in workplaces. The frequence shows the seriousness of the problem and also the urgent need to eliminate it.Studies put one across shown that women are more given up to sexual harassment (Mathis et al., 1981). There might be several explanations in relation to this statement. Long ago, women were seen as second class citizens. They were victims of gender disparities and female subordination at all levels. They were seen as poor, burdened and steady with difficulties in the male dominated societies. They were uneducated hence they were not eligible for white collar jobs. They were able to occupy positions like market women or tea sellers ( Abdel Hamid et al, 2009) . Furthermore they were unaware of their rights to equality. Consequently, they were sexually harassed in ways like dirty language and jokes imposed on them while doing work. They had to face sexual harassment mostly every day from noisy customers. The lack of education compels the women to bear these harassments without being able to do anything. They did not bonk well-nigh their rights and the relevant laws.Another factor which triggers sexual harassment is the values and impost which arise from cultural beliefs. Some cultures support the fact that men occupy superior position than women. The latter, hence, acquire it normal and accept that men hold condescending entitlements. This highlights gender disparity which in turn, encourages sexual harassment of women. In such situations, female victims choose to remain silent because they know that they will never get justice.However, even today, despite the fact that there has been emancipation of women, where the latter have become educated, self communicatory and aware of laws, there is still sexual exploitation of women. . However we cannot turn a blind spirit also to the fact that although less frequent, men can also be victims of sexual harassment. Several studies have revealed that women are also sexually harassing men. Furthermore, nowadays we also find the same sex harassing each other, men harassing men and women harassing women respectively. The majority of cases on sexual harassment which have been reported and brought before the Courts in opposite countries still show that sexual harassment happens when a person who is in a very aright position uses his particular position to harass others who are in a vulnerable position. In other words, this would imply that someone who is at the top of the ladder uses his power to continuously trouble another person who is at the bottom of the hierarchical ladder of the organisation. Various international organizations, trade unions, womens associations and other pressure groups have revealed that sexual harassment is becoming an alarming situation, especially in the field of employment (Crucet et al, 2010).On the entirely sexual harassment affects an individuals employment, interferes and disturbs the performance. Consequently, an intimidated, offensive and hostile environment come into play. There is a negative meeting on productivity as there will be more absenteeism and loss of valuable cater as a result of dissatisfaction at work, low self esteem, frustration and loss of trust. Studies show that aside from causing economic harm, sexual harassment can also have a negative effect on the human psychology. Victims may suffer from various complications like insomnia, depression and loss of interest in the family (Kim and Kleiner, 1999). Whether public or tete-a-tete sector, sexual harassment can be very humiliating and this may lead to health and safety problem. (Chaudhuri P., 2006)Aims and objectivesThe research proposal seeks to investigate the actual situation of sexual harassment at workplace. There are myths relating that sexual harassment occurs mostly to older mass because of their economic vulnerability (Kim and Kleiner, 1999). It is also true that sexual harassment is not necessarily limited to sexual desire and physical attractiveness because sexual harassment is used to bully and intimidate the victims. Hence, we can see that no one is safe from this issue. Consequently, the aim of the research is to make people, whether young or old, experienced or inexperienced, new or old to have a better understanding of this issue so that they will be able to combat it effectively if ever they are found in a difficult situation.We are also aiming to show the reasons, how and why sexual harassment occurs. We are also investigating in the possible consequences and solutions operable to combat this issue. It is true that sexual harassment will not stymie by plainly ignoring it. On the contrary, this ignoran ce will encourage harassers to continue and even excel in their wrongdoing. We will even try to highlight the fact that when sexual harassment occurs, it is the duty of the employer to protect and support the victims. Studies and journals show that more women are prone to sexual harassment than men. Our remove is also aiming to know whether this finding is correct or not.Moreover, through this study we are trying to know about the companys policy against sexual harassment and to know whether laws are unrelenting enough to curb sexual harassment. Organisations should reinforce laws for the prohibition of sexual harassment. The latter should be regarded as an offensive activity in workplaces and raise awareness of appropriate disciplinary measures that will be taken against the offender. Indeed, many public and private organisations have not even set up complaints committees. Impartiality in these committees is highly recommended to halt sexual harassment. For example, a third part y representative from anti sexual harassment organisations can sit in the committee.Furthermore, the purpose of our study is to highlight the fact that companies need to have disciplinary measures which will help in reducing sexual harassment and avoid future incidents of this nature in the work place. moderate should act as a catalyst in the prevention and gradual elimination of sexual harassment. It should be clear to workers that this type of unethical behaviour will not be tolerated at work. There should be assorted rules to deal with different situations. For example, where minor cases of sexual harassment are concerned, the harasser can be reprimanded and warned. However, in extreme cases, severe disciplinary actions like termination, demotion, reduction of wages, suspension, transfer or reassignment should be taken without any hesitation (The U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 1999).MethodsEveryone uses information to make decisions about the future. If the inform ation is accurate, there is a high luck of making a good decision. However, if the information is inaccurate, our ability to make a correct decision is diminished. It is true that better information leads to better decision.Information can be either primary or secondary. Primary data refers to information collected for the specific purpose at hand. On the other hand, secondary data refers to information that already exists to be used for another purpose. In the campaign of our research, we have made use of both primary and secondary data. Secondary data has been in the form of books, journals and articles from the lucre. Our measuring instrument to assess primary data is a written questionnaire.There are different ways to get primary information. Some of them are personal questionnaires, talking with people, telephone surveys, E-mail and internet surveys, experiments, focus groups, observation among others.Research approach- QuestionnaireFor the purpose of our research we have opt ed for personal questionnaires. Indeed the questionnaire is the most efficient way for getting comprehensive information for the study. This method involves interviewing other persons for personal or detailed information. typically respondents will be required to voluntarily participate by answering questions on the written questionnaire which is simply a list of topics that the research wants to discuss on a certain specific issue. Here, the operative people will be asked to determine the factors that influence sexual harassment at the workplace, its nature, how and why it occurs and the possible solutions to this problem.It is true that internet surveys are the fastest method to carry out surveys. However they might be sloped because the results might not be representative of the whole cosmos. Moreover, talking with people is also another way of collecting information but it is more appropriate for short letter purposes where customers and clients interact with each other for business transactions. Telephone surveys are a bit like questionnaires but the only difference is that it occurs orally. However, we did not consider this option as we know, the working population are very busy with their work loads and they will not bother to give importance to surveys carried out on the telephone. A written questionnaire has a greater impact than the telephone surveys and people will be able to express themselves better.At the end of the questionnaire, there was another part which was included to gather demographic information of each respondent. It is good to note that their confidentiality and anonymity will be assured. However, if they will refuse to participate, they will be free to do so.Research Approach- consultationApart from gathering quantitative data from the questionnaire, we are also looking forward to collecting soft data by interviewing some Human Resource Professionals within both the public and private sectors to know about the actual state of s exual harassment in the workplace. Interview has been chosen as a research method because it is very reliable as we as researchers will be physically in front of the respondents and we will be able to guide them about how to better fill in the questionnaires. However, the loss of this approach is that it might be quite time consuming.SamplingIn order to draw conclusions about cosmic groups of individuals, researchers normally study a small sample of the total population. A sample is a limited number of units that closely represents the characteristics of a total population. The purpose of the study is to select representatives of that population.Samples may be chosen by two different methodsProbability- including simple random, stratified, cluster and systematic sampling.Non probability- including stratagem, judgmental, quota and snowball.For the purpose of our study, we have opted for probability sampling. we find that stratified sampling best suits the needs of our research. We will first of all, divide the working population into 2 stratum, that is, private and public sectors. From a total of 22 public ministries and 10 public companies, we will then use simple random sampling to choose 6 ministries and 6 public companies. We are expecting responses from 60 employers and employees, 30 being from the public and 30 from the private. Our survey is targeting workers at all levels and all departments (management, administration, operational, IT). Such a sample is very convenient to satisfy the mission of the research.Moreover, we will also use convenience sampling for the sake of conducting our interviews. We will select a total of 12 people to interview, 6 being from the public sector and 6 from the private.Benefits of the researchIndeed, this research is going to be beneficial for a large segment of people. First of all, it will be highly relevant to the working population, both from the public and private sectors. As we have seen earlier, we are targeting employees from both public and private companies. They will be given a broader view of what sexual harassment actually is, how and why it occurs and also how to combat it effectively.Furthermore, it is also going to be very relevant to future working populations, that is, to university students who will soon be graduating and eventually having their first go in employment. Indeed, being new and inexperienced, these fresh graduates normally take some time to adapt to the working environment. Additionally, if they have problems relating to sexual harassment, the first option that they will consider is to resign from their jobs. But this is surely not the best solution. Instead, if they should be taught to better understand the issue and how to curb it within the working environment.Budget abbreviationList of expendituresEquivalent Cost (Rs)Stationery- Paper, paper clips, pens, cover page100.00Travel expenses180.00Questionnaires (61)244.00Black printing20.00 washy printing for cover page20.00Binding35.00Electricity and Internet costs155.00