There is no one reason why there is a growth in sexual harassment towards both males and females at the workplace or any public or private place. It is the most uneasy experience that a human can feel, let alone surviving the lifelong trauma they face for someone else’s mistakes. Society at large has to be educated about sexual harassment and uproot the belief that it is ok to be touched without consent. It can be intentionally or unintentionally that a person may cross boundaries that may lead to adverse consequences. As the offense is being scrutinized there is a gradual increase in the types of sexual harassment cases. You can visit safetytalkideas.com, to learn more about sexual harassment and how to prevent it in your workplace.
Classifying the types of sexual harassment
Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment
It translates from a Latin phrase that means “ This for that.” A benefit in return for sexual favors. In a workplace, an employee can be deliberately tried and let down time and again. Denied promotion, no recognition, or even equal opportunity. So that a person can take advantage of providing such benefits in return for sexual favors. Thus, an infamous phrase in line with Quid Pro Quo used for unfortunate employees is “Slept their way up.” It means that people have only been able to achieve growth at the workplace because they provided sexual favors in return.
It is applicable for both men and women or even the same-sex. Suppose an employee rightly follows their job description as per the employment contract and has no question about their achievements and work dedication. In that case, they approach senior management in Human Resources and register a complaint. Complaining may not always get the desired result. Therefore an employee must weigh the pros and cons of the situation. Quid Pro Quo has the opportunity of choice. Each person can think through and take the next step. They can opt to hire the best sexual harassment lawyer New York City to help in their situation, the lawyer will assist them in filing and winning their legal case.
Creation of a Hostile Environment
In a workplace environment today, there is competition. People are motivated by targets and are given a free hand to do so. There are strict policies in every company, but there are also certain people who exploit their position. A hostile environment means providing no option for a person to escape a sexually hostile environment. A team mentor, or a manager, or a team member can also be a sexual harasser. Sexual harassment can range from passing lewd comments to non-consensual touching.
A hostile environment can exist or be created. Client meetings, meeting with guests, or personalities as a part of one’s job can also create a hostile environment for an employee. They can get uncomfortable with the touch or a vitiate speech by the other party. These environments last for a short time, such as a meeting hour or meet and greet with guests, but it plays a part in building a hostile work environment for an employee.
How can the employment contract help?
An employment contract is an agreement between the employee and the employer to fix the terms of work and compensation for the work done. To narrow down the contract details, it has all the necessary information that an employee needs, such as work hours, overtime, job description, reporting party, and the company’s policies.
Most of the employment contracts have a protocol for types of sexual harassment offenses in an organization. It is an allegation that is taken very seriously. Hence during the orientation, Human Resources must inform the employee about their rights to speak up against a sexual harassment episode within the organization. This is done to curb the growing number of cases of harassment in companies worldwide. In most cases, there are no fair warnings but the staff’s direct firing if there is enough evidence to prove the case.
Emails, phone calls, text messages are proof that victims can use to prove the victim’s claim.
Summary
The more we know about the types of sexual harassment, the more we can educate the coming generations about it. However, some take advantage of such policies and try to work their way into an organization through false allegations. Multi-billion dollar corporate employees have lost their jobs, reputation and even been a media target because of false claims. It is due to the fact that proving sexual harassment is difficult. There can be a consensual relationship, but it can backfire as harassment. Therefore there is strict compliance in many companies that no two people from the same department are to form a relationship (Sexual or Intimate)
Suppose you have been falsely accused of sexual harassment. In that case, you must quickly hire an attorney to handle your case as you may speak to the police or any other interrogating officer and might end up self-incriminating yourself. A qualified and experienced lawyer will train you to speak and tackle the cross-questioning while preparing a strong case to get rid of your name from any type of sexual harassment case. You can learn more about sexual harassment to keep yourself safe.
