Sexual Harassment in the Workplace - Essay Example

Question One: strategies to address sexual harassment in the workplace The majority of victims of sexual harassment are women, even though men can also be sexually harassed at workplace. According to Shrier, both sexes react differently to the sexual harassments: if the environment is supportive, victims are more likely to share their problem in the hope for release (Shrier, 1996, p. 41). Most of the victims do not report about being sexually harassed at work because work is the source of financial well-being and employees are afraid to be fired. "Because sexual harassment can have a variety of psychologically damaging effects on victims, such as reduced self-esteem and depression victims' coping mechanisms may be reduced just at the time they need them the most" (Shrier, 1996, p. 41). It is hard to say which treatment method is better because the reaction of the victim can be very different and largely depends on how long the harassment has been happening, how frequently it occurs, and whether the victim has made any attempts to stop the harassment. There are three strategies of dealing with sexual harassment at work: individual, institutional and legal. The initial strategy which is proved to be most often used is to write a letter to the harasser. Some of the tips include: deliver the letter in person or by certified mail, do not sent copies to the press or colleagues, keep at least one copy of the letter and do not discuss the letter with the harasser before sending. The letter should include: the factual account of what has happened, the descriptions of feelings the victim has and the statement about what the writer wants to happen next (Barickman, 1991, p. 41). This strategy is proved to be very effective in comparison with verbal request to stop harassment because the harasser might realize that his/her actions might become the subject of investigation. Before using institutional strategies, the victim has to find out whether the organization has a policy dealing with sexual harassment and whether the harasser is aware about it, the previous rehearsal of the speech with a friend adds confidence (it is better to ask an advise from the specialist regarding the following issues: will the complaint's name be used, will the harasser be notified about he charges immediately, and when/how the investigation will take place), the victim should keep the written record of all experiences with harasser and present the witnesses of possible (Barickman, 1991, p. 43). This strategy is the effective if the company has anti-harassment policy introduced. If such policy does not exist (the policy is obligatory for all companies with more than 15 employees), then the written record of all harassment incidents becomes the basis for legal investigation. Legal intrusion is the final and the most effective strategy to deal with sexual harassment at workplace. Only a small percent of all victims use this strategy - if the previous two strategies did not work about and sexual harassment continues. The victim can sue the harasser (very time consuming and can lead to counter-suit), start criminal suit, or find out whether there is a law about the particular sexual harassment act at workplace (Barickman, 1991, p. 46). This strategy is effective; however, the victims should be ready for rather humiliating process with all intimate details being discussed in public. For this reason victims do not use this strategy in most cases and prefer to stop harassment with the methods discussed above. The company has the responsibility for developing comprehensive strategies of dealing with sexual harassment at workplace. The most effective strategy should prevent sexual harassment before its occurrence. Sexual harassment guidelines should be the part of the organization's guiding values. Employees first must recognize unacceptable behavior before they can eliminate it. The manager should include specific examples of what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior, and then thoroughly distribute the guidelines. These guidelines can be reinforced in training sessions and staff meetings, copies posted on bulletin boards, and a framed copy mounted on the wall of each manager's office. Employees should be urged to tell colleagues when a comment or behavior is offensive to them. During training, such examples of appropriate behavior should be provided as making courteous comments rather than physical contact or complimenting merit and performance, never physical appearance (Fester, 1996, p. 19). Question Two: rape and other violent crime against street prostitutes Prostitutes often become the victims of the violent crime. One of the major reasons why people treat street prostitutes with aggression is the negative attitude towards them - prostitution is associated with the transmission of the sexual infections and drug abuse. Street prostitutes are an easy target for the criminals because prostitutes are willing to join their clients and go with them to the place the client chooses. "Previous work indicates that the client-prostitute encounter is replete with potential for conflict and tension, particularly where both parties hold conflicting views of who is in control of the encounter" (Stanko, 2003, p. 32). Therefore, the first technique to prevent the aggression towards prostitutes depends on prostitutes themselves who should try to gain control over the client. The potential for violence between prostitute and client has to be seen as embedded within this complex interplay of individual, interpersonal and social factors, and women's strategies for control of the encounter could prove to be a key mechanism for reducing the risk of client violence. Prostitutes are often the victims of rape even though it is hard to draw the line between rape and the services they provide. For example, the sexual intercourse between a prostitute and a client is not considered to be a rape if the client has paid the money, while the intercourse becomes a rape if the prostitute did not give her agreement for sex. The modern society tends to develop social programs on protection of prostitutes from rape and other violent crime while in the most countries this issue is not covered at all. For this reason the prevention of violence is concentrated in the hands of the prostitutes who can take the corresponding actions is they sense some aggression from the clients. The newspaper Daily Record (April 3, 1998, p.6) has reported about the murders of prostitutes in the city of Glasgow which are becoming one of the major concerns. Over the last 6 years seven prostitutes were killed. The police has made a decision to monitor this profession more closely. Street prostitution is against the law in Glasgow but these women still need to be protected against violence despite of how they earn money. Unfortunately, police never takes the rape reports from prostitutes seriously and it leads to impunity of the offenders. There are numerous cases when girls have raped on the street partially because the criminals have mistaken them for prostitutes. It indicates that criminals are confident that the rape of a prostitute will not be punished by law. Moreover, prostitutes are confident as well that the police will not investigate the rape case and for this reason do not report the rape at all and perpetrators are free to attack again and again. Despite of the social views on prostitution the community should prevent against prostitutes. Some of the recommendations include - the prostitutes need to be encouraged to report violent crimes to police and be sure that the police will not arrest them for their activities on the street. Harassment of prostitutes by police officers is not new for our community - gratuitous harassment of prostitutes needs to be stopped and prostitutes should report about this as well (Prostitution Crossroads on Santa Rosa Avenue). Other countries have developed excellent policies regarding prostitution and these policies have proved to be working. For example, San Francisco has redirected the resources from prosecution of prostitutes to their protection. Sweden has passed the law that made the selling of the sex legal while the buying of the sex illegal. It was done based on the assumption that in the majority of cases prostitutes are in a weaker position and are exploited. Finally, in Portland Oregon the special educational program has been developed for johns to educate them on the issue that prostitution is not a victimless crime. However, there are no results of how successful is such education and its impact of violence against prostitutes. References Sexual Harassment at Workplace Shrier, DK 1996, Sexual Harassment in the Workplace and Academia: Psychiatric Issues, American Psychiatric Press, Washington, DC. Fester, J & Schumacher, J 1996, "Practical Ways to Address Workplace Sexual Harassment Problems", Public Management, vol. 78, no. 7, p. 19+. Barickman, B & Paludi, MA 1991, Academic and Workplace Sexual Harassment: A Resource Manual, State University of New York Press, Albany, NY. Violence against prostitution Prostitution Crossroads on Santa Rosa Avenue, Criminal Justice, viewed 9 April, 2006, . "WAR ON THE SEX BEASTS; ACTION STATIONS: Worried Government Prepare a New Strategy to Deal with Violence against Women", 1998, Daily Record, April 3, p. 6. Stanko, EA 2003, The Meanings of Violence, Routledge, New York. Read More