Sexual Harassment

What is Sexual Harassment?

Sexual harassment is defined as any behavior including verbal and nonverbal actions, that may take place in social settings such as workplace, public entity, and school, that arouses sexual humiliation to other individual as well as violates their right to work and education. Sexual harassment is a broad concept ranging from sexual objectification, dirty jokes, forced dates to graver crimes such as sexual molestation and rape. Sexual comment and conduct can be sexual harassment when it is imposed on a person as a condition for advantages or disadvantages in employment, work, and school. They can also be considered sexual harassment when those acts form a hostile environment. Sexual harassment is derived from convergence of gender discrimination and unequal power relations. Prevention of sexual harassment is crucial in order to reduce gender and sexual discrimination within corporate life and to establish equality in work and educational environments. A number of European countries interpret sexual harassment in a broad manner; it is “gender harassment” abusing someone based on gender differences. In fact, the term “harassment” is close to “annoyance.”.

Statute regarding prevention and treatment of sexual harassment and violence Article 2, Section1. Sexual harassment is any conduct which brings others sexual humiliation and aversion, regardless of whether the conduct constitutes sexual crime or not, according to the reasonable judgement of the victim. It includes the following:

2. Conduct of giving disadvantage in academic evaluation, employment, and/or promotion due to noncompliance to the conduct described in secion1, or gender differences. 3. Conduct which constructs unfair environment based on gender differences 4. Conduct of one who sympathized with the assailant, which causes considerable damage to the victim by means of mental intimidation, physical coercion or any other means.

Types of sexual harassment

• Repeating derogatory and obscene remarks, or offensive sexist remarks
• Spreading rumors about others’ sexual relationship or sex life
• Habitually uttering sexual analogy or evaluating others’ appearance
• Remarks that promote sexual objectification
• Closely looking upon other person’s specific part of body or blatantly looking up and down
• Deliberately exposing or touching one’s particular body part in front of others.
• Publishing obscene painting, drawing, or pictures that are not related to work or education
• Offending others by sending pornographic pictures, photos through e-mail.
• Forcing someone to sit next to himself/herself and/or pour drinks in social meetings within department, club, etc
• Harassing others via phone or e-mail regardless of others’ intentions.
• Attempting unwanted physical contact, like asking for a massage or caress.
• Requiring sexual encounter or relationship in return for an advantage or by intimidating that they will give the person a disadvantage in work or class
• Attempting or practicing sexual molestation or rape.