Question

Why is it important to have sexual harassment laws? If you do not believe these laws are necessary, explain your position. Do you think sexual harassment regulations have gone too far? What other unique considerations might come into play if it were same sex harassment?

Answer 1

• In the United States, sexual harassment has been deemed illegal. It’s been illegal since 1964, but ever since, the country has done little in the way of taking an active role in stopping sexual harassment in the workplace. This can be seen in the lack of additional laws protecting victims of sexual harassment, and the varying laws from state to state that relate to harassment.
• Sexual harassment and sexually aggressive behaviors have always existed — but sexual harassment laws are relatively new and are ever-evolving. They are not a 20th or 21st century problem, it's somewhat recently that we're actually putting into effect these sexual harassment laws. Even still, often times these laws and regulations fall flat when it comes to preventing sexual assault and sexual harassment in and out of the workplace, and dealing with how harassment affects individuals' lives and their work.
• The effectiveness of legal system in control of sexual crimes, hinges on the credibility of the system. Credibility depends on people’s perception of the system ,based on their observation of convictions and acquittals of known cases.
• If people feel that one can get away easily, using the loop-holes and safeguards available in the system ,then the credibility gets eroded. While media highlights the commission of offences with focus lights,equal importance is not given when punishment is given.If one is not certain that justice will be rendered,then it means that there is no credibility in the system.
• Existing Laws have done a lot to prevent Sexual harassment. However, this is in case of the victim being a woman, not a male. The feminism outrage in the country has divided the type of protection given against sexual harassment on grounds of gender and is thus becoming a recurring and key problem.
• My opinion is that the laws are sufficient but enforcement is not. Some of the procedural requirements need a complete re-haul ( such as of collecting witness, the speed at which it is done, expectations of the doctor, reporting mechanisms).
• One of the first things we can do is push for more effective sexual harassment training in the workplace. Workplace sexual harassment training is vital for harassers and victims because it sheds a light on what kinds of behavior constitutes sexual harassment. Many companies already have an anti-harassment policy, but these often leave something to be desired and only meet anti-discrimination law requirements set forth by the federal government.
• Companies should update their policies and make sure they’re clear on not just more commonly thought-of forms of harassment, but also same-sex harassment. In training, explain the definition of sexual harassment training while included information about same-sex issues.
• Train supervisors on concepts of bias that can lead to mishandling of same-sex harassment. Training supervisors on the proper protocol to deal with harassment claims is an essential element of coursework, but it’s important for them to recognize they may have biases that impact how they handle claims made by male victims. Recognizing these biases and then learning how to properly handle them is a good way to ensure all harassment claims are treated equally in the workplace.