Sexual Harassment

A person is said to be harassed when he or she feels tormented by the actions of another person or group. Harassment is generally considered a misconduct, and depending on the degree, a serious crime. Employee harassment is the form of miscondict that occurs in the workplace. These forms of harassment should not be tolerated and, more often than not, go not only against the rules and regulation of the workplace but the national laws as well. One of the most common forms of employee harassment is sexual harassment.

Definition

Sexual harassment basically occurs when a fellow worker exerts an unwelcome and offensive action, whether verbal or physical, to another employee based on the latter’s sexuality. These may include remarks about the person’s image, or more commonly, the sensitive parts of the body. Sexual harassment also occurs when another employee sends suggestive sexual remarks to another a co-worker, whether verbal or in the form of printed or computer messages. Lastly, this kind of harassment also occurs in physical forms, such as the intentional touching of a particularly sensitive body part. These harassments may happen many times before they are recognized, although sometimes a single incident may be grave enough to evidently constitute a crime.

Dealing with sexual harassment

The first thing to do when you believe you are being harassed is to tell the person to stop such acts against you, or at least, let the person know that you are offended. At the same time, you must alert your superiors about the matter. Sexual harassment is a crime, and no workplace should tolerate it. If sexual harassment is done, the victim may file a complaint through the HR or a human rights commission.