Sexual harassment Assignment PDF

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Name: Allan Yaw Gorman.
Date: 24th September 2021.
Ethics paper: Sexual Harassment.
Sexual harassment is an unwanted sexual gesture, unwelcome demand for sexual favors
or other unwanted conduct of a sexual nature which causes an individual to feel annoyed,
embarrassed or potentially scared, where a sensible individual would anticipate that response in
the circumstances. Internationally, sexual harassment in the workplace has been condemned as
sex discrimination and a violation of human rights, with more than 75 countries legislating laws
against it. It lowers workplace productivity and quality of work, undermines gender quality of
work, allows for unfair practices in employment, causes companies a lot of money due to loss of
productivity, low worker morale, absenteeism and staff turnover.
Sexual harassment can take many forms, ranging from sideways glances and crude jokes
to disparaging remarks based on gender stereotypes, sexual assault, and other forms of physical
violence. Although each country's legal meaning differs, it is widely recognized to refer to
uninvited and inappropriate sex-related behavior. Sexual harassment is always regarded when
acts of sexual assault are committed (as well as criminal acts). In the legal sense, suggestive
jokes or disparaging statements made at one sex may or may not be constituted sexual
harassment, depending on the context and frequency. Furthermore, the line between unpleasant
courtship approaches and sexual harassment is unclear.
When we look at it from a strategic standpoint, some lines are clear and very distinctive,
which does not require a magnifying glass. Though sexual harassment can differ depending on
the situation and people involved, the key factor is whether such sexual advances is welcomed or
unwelcomed. Unwelcome direct or indirect sexual advances is sexual harassment. Anyone, male
or female, can be a victim of sexual harassment. The victim and the harasser can be a woman or
a man, and they can be the same sex. A man might harass another man, a woman might harass
another woman.
The 2012 Labour Code prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace, laying the legal
foundation for a safe and healthy work environment. It also includes some related legislation,
such as giving employees who have been sexually harassed the opportunity to end their
employment contract unilaterally. Despite this, the current legal framework is excessively broad,

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with no criteria or clear indicators for determining what constitutes sexual harassment. In
practice, preventing and responding to sexual harassment and dealing with violations is tough.
Combating sexual harassment and implementing laws has resulted in a code of conduct on sexual
harasssment in the workplace referred to as “the Code”.
The Code is intended to assist employers (agencies, organizations, companies, etc.) and
employees in developing their own policy or regulation (or incorporating this content into their
existing policies and regulations) for preventing and responding to sexual harassment, as well as
promoting healthy, safe, and productive workplaces. In accordance with the Labour Code, the
Code gives practical assistance to employers, employers' organizations, workers, and trade
unions on how to implement legislation to effectively prevent and manage sexual harassment in
the workplace. It also suggests that a workplace policy on sexual harassment be developed,
implemented, and monitored in order to foster safe and healthy workplaces where all workers,
regardless of sex or status, are treated with decency and respect.
Looking at the #MeToo movement, where movie producer Harvey Weinstein was
sentenced to 23 years in prison for sex crimes in early 2020. Another person that made headlines
this year was Larry Nassar who happened to be America’s women’s gymnastics team doctor. He
was sentenced up to 300 years in jail in 2018, for abusing more than 250 girls from his position.
A code of conduct, often known as an ethics code, goes beyond the law: By pledging to conduct
operations in line with a code of ethics, one is pledging to not just follow the law, but to go above
and beyond it. Historically, codes of ethics were primarily intended to protect businesses from
their competitors. They are currently designed, for the most part, to protect those with whom
corporations do business, including employees.
“The ASAE Ethics Committee recommends that association sexual harassment policies
include the following elements: Underlying principles, definition of harassment, clear reporting
procedures, responsibly of supervisors and witnesses, direct communication with the alleged
offender, clear and prompt investigation procedure with due process provisions, potential
sanctions, anti-retaliation provision, false accusation provision and statute of limitations”
(Bobrow et al. 2020). Testing company policies and procedures against a scenario is the greatest
approach to ensure that they are legitimate. Due to the shifting course, it is why sexual
harassment and related policies should be reviewed and updated on a regular basis.

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No organization is spared from the responsibility to create and maintain a
harassment-free workplace. Unfortunately, despite a corporate focus on training staff and
enacting harassment rules, sexual harassment at work has been an issue for decades. The
unfortunate reality is that most of what businesses have done in the past to combat harassment
has failed miserably. However, there is some good news. Employers may effectively reduce the
potential for harassment and provide a secure, harassment-free workplace for all employees by
taking a different approach to addressing sexual harassment prevention. Here are some
workplace sexual harassment prevention measures.
Organizational harassment rules should be reviewed on a regular basis. They should also
communicate about these policies and the ideas they reflect on a regular basis, not just during
onboarding or annual training cycles, but throughout the year in all-staff and smaller team
meetings, internal corporate communications, and other forums. They should include clear,
unequivocal statements that eliminating sexual harassment is a top priority for the organization
and that any employee who violates the policies against it, regardless of their position in the firm,
will be held accountable. Finally, for these communications to be truly effective, they must
originate from leaders across the organization, preferably top executives, instead of just HR.
Although it may appear that sexual harassment at work should be self-evident, companies
must take steps to ensure that employees are aware of the types of acts and behaviors that are
unacceptable. Educating leaders, supervisors, and employees about more subtle kinds of sexual
harassment is also critical. These low-stakes behaviors or comments not only harm professional
relationships and team culture, but they can also grow into more flagrant harassment if left
unchecked. Another method is to keep sexual harassment prevention training positive.
Insinuations—or outright statements—that they're doing anything wrong, that they can't be
trusted, or that they're suspected of bad behavior don't do too well with employees.
Taking swift and decisive actions as issues arise is another method of lessening the
probability of sexual harassment occuring in the workplace. If employees believe that nothing
will be done if sexual harassment issues arise, they will cease reporting them, and those who may
hurt others may feel empowered to do so. As a result, it's vital that employers respond quickly to
harassment complaints, conduct a complete and objective review/investigation of the situation,
impose significant repercussions as needed, and notify the reporter. While many businesses are
unable to reveal particular and personal information regarding disciplinary proceedings taken,