Workplace Sexual Harassment of Women in Canada Essay Example

rejection of such requests, advances and conduct determine the outcome of a woman's employment pursuit. Employers obsessed with the desire to fulfill their sexual exploitation of female employees therefore, will use the job applicant's response to make decisions regarding the job offer. Consequently, they will reward them for their submission but punish them for their rejection. Comment by sayonev: In this paragraph either at the start or the end can you add how to Identify Sexual Harassments – it will flow better into the next section when you talk about Types of Sexual Harassment.

Types of Sexual Harassment

From the broadest perspective, sexual harassment takes various forms. It includes physical violence against the victims as well as the mild forms such as coercion. While the degree and circumstance under which the various sexual harassment occur differs, it is important to note the different types that prevail in given workplace. Nevertheless, sexual harassment against women in their places of work can take two primary forms: hostile environment and Quid pro quo.

Quid pro quo is the most recognizable and the top workplace sexual harassment that women battle with every day. It involves a give and take strategy that ensures that employers or superiors get sexual favors for all the job assignments, promotion and offers they make to a female employee (Giuffre & Williams, 1994). According to Bergvall, Bing, and Freed (2014), a practical case would involve an individual of authority fulfilling a female employee's pay rise, promotion or job security only after getting sexual favors from her. Analytically, perpetrators put such employee are in a confusing situation as to whether accept the offer and reciprocate or dismiss it all.

Consequentially, rejecting the sexual advances from such people of authority would mean common frustrations such as unjustified pay cuts, demotion or even job termination.

Secondly, Giuffre and Williams (1994) posit that the hostile environment type of sexual harassment happens when employers and co-workers, particularly the ones in senior positions, make advances and behaviors that create an adverse working environment. Unlike the Quid Pro Quo harassment, the hostile environment is very broad that it can even take place away from the company premises (Lunenburg, 2010). It brings together both the fellow workers in the workplace and the company customers who accessible to the victim. For the hostile environment to prevail, it constitutes both verbal and nonverbal sexual advances against the victim. Accordingly, a sensitive comment that makes the female employee uncomfortable amounts to this form of sexual harassment.

Verbal sexual harassment brings together all kinds of comments regarding how a woman have dressed to work, their physical appearances, their personality traits, vulgar jokes, asking for sexual favors, begging for dates, spreading fallacies about an employee’s private life as well as scaring the female employees by making unwanted sexual advances (Williams, Giuffre, & Dellinger, 1999). On the second account, the verbal sexual harassment can also constitute physical, sexual harassment. In many occasions, this subcategory of verbal harassment has turned out more severe than the previous groups because the latter involves actual perpetration of the sexual motives towards the women employees. The motives include sexual assault, improper touching or hugging, patting, impeding movement, and stroking the female employees without their consent (Martin, 2002).

Nonverbally, a female employee can be harassed through sexual gestures, staring at their sensitive body parts, making sexual

expressions, or stalking them. A person can also use their visual ability to making women feel sexually exploited. For instance, Lunenburg (2010) explains that a male worker or employer can present pictures, draw particular pieces, have posters as well as images that advocate for unwanted sexual fascination. Additionally, sexual abuse can also break down into email teasing, playing sexual pranks, offering unwanted gifts, rubbing against a female's body or making unpleasant body contact, as well as playing seductive media such as music to the uninterested female employee (Martin, 2002). In the midst of all these forms of sexual harassment, age does not play many roles but normally, male employees or employers are always at an advanced age due to their total working experience in their respective fields. As aforementioned, male employer/employee, sexual harassers often use the virtue of their superior or senior officers to perpetrate sexual intimidation and harassment to their suspecting or unsuspecting victims.

Effects of Sexual Harassment Against Women

The impact of sexual harassment on women depends on the degree and the extent of the exposure. From the onset, many sexual harassment victims seriously have their work performance diminishing. In fact, persistent sexual harassment can kill the career of many Canadian women if not mitigated (Bell, Street, & Stafford, 2014). Apart from the avoidance reasons, victims can decide to miss work for many days due health implications brought along by the practice. Many women would rather choose to stay away from their sexual harassers than face them (Martin, 2002). Additionally, victimizers who have been exposed may decide to retaliate on the victims in various ways. They may choose to none- procedurally demote, fire, or reduce

their salaries and allowances. Martin (2002) reiterates that apart from the harassers, the victim's office may even become more intolerable than before. Many workers may be intolerably gossiping her.

The victim is also vulnerable to psychological consequences of the abuse. Insomnia, anxiety attacks and loss of self-esteem are the leading psychological after effects of sexual harassment. Unfortunately, some victims develop severe psychological effects like post-traumatic stress disorder, suicide attempts or intense depression (Williams, Giuffre, & Dellinger, 1999). Physically, sexual abuse survivors may develop high blood pressure, gastrointestinal disorders as well as severe and persistent headaches. Eventually, the victim develops adverse sexual problems such as general intimacy and sexual dysfunctions (Martin, 2002).

Curbing Workplace Sexual Harassment

The practice of improving the corporate well-being of Canadian women workers calls for a collective support of various stakeholders. For substantial success to be realized, the Canadian government, employers, fellow employees and the public must stand firm. Precisely, the government, the employers, the female employees (victims) have a particular role to play.

The Government

The Canadian government has always paid attention to and acted on sexual harassment at different levels. According to the Ontario Women's Justice Network (2015), the government has enhanced sexual assault prosecution by providing a Sexual Assault Advisory team to advise Crown Attorneys, training and mentoring the attorneys as well as providing recovery resources and free legal advice for sexual harassment survivors. Besides, it has developed and availed policing tools for the country’s law enforcers as well as performing several laws relating to sexual assault like the Limitation Act. Mathieu, Benzie, and Poisson (2016) document the Premier Kathleen Wynne’s plan of implementing training services for youth in colleges, universities and schools on

the seriousness of sexual violence. This will create a more efficient generation than the current on.

Before blaming companies and their employees on the escalation of sexual harassment cases, the Canadian government of must spring into tighter actions than before. The contemporary corporate setting has opened more doors to women professionals and diffused the traditional career barriers than before and folding hands and watching women's corporate agony is just unforgivable. It is clear that Canada has various legal measures towards this vice. For instance, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) reiterates that sexual harassment is unlawful whether committed at one’s workplace, residence or in public places (Backhouse, 2008). Accordingly, employers are bound to protect legally their female employees against all forms of sexual harassment. Besides, it is clear about tracking sexual harassment victims who report their cases to the police. The assessment of the harassment also concentrates on the impacts the actions of the perpetrator had on the victim. Nevertheless, the policy as it stands is too weak to stage a strong wave against corporate sexual harassment particularly to the vulnerable women.

Employers sham (2014), the Canadian legal system can take various steps to augment the fight against workplace sexual harassment. Firstly, the government should accord sexually harassed victims lawyers to argue out their cases. In many instances, the difference between the reported cases of sexual harassment and the convicted perpetrators is disturbingly enormous due to insufficient evidence. Secondly, the civil court rather than the criminal courts would best handle sexual assault cases. By allowing crowns to handle sexual harassment, the little or the insufficient evidence that the criminal court would throw away will be substantially unbeatable

hence delivering justice. This will ensure that sexual harassers do not get away due to insufficient evidence.

Thirdly, Sheehy (2012) emphasizes that the Canadian legal frameworks should not tolerate sexual harassment myths in the courtrooms. In several proceedings such as the Ghomeshi's Sexual Assault Case, lawyers mainly the defense teams have argued that the victim did not struggle, maybe was in the wrong place, and many mythical explanations of various sexual harassment terms (Charles, 2016). Alternatively, legal partners such as lawyers must stick to the legal boundaries to deliver the deserved justice. Finally, the while the Canadian Supreme Court is firm on the sexual harassment cross-examination, many courts have permitted the stereotypical defense exploitation of the victims during trials. This is tantamount to the "whacking" or killing of the complainant thus weakening theirand Co-workers.

Human resource managers can take some strategies to deal with the sexual harassment in organizations. However, caution must prevail because dealing with sexual harassment perpetrators calls for great wisdom. However, in general, the vice must be faced off an organization to give room for harmonious co-existence and productive workers relationships. Some of the approaches that HR managers can exploit include instituting a no tolerance policy, widely publishing the policy, and creating a simple but comprehensive harassment complaint system.

Firstly, HR managers should clearly make their firm’s position regarding sexual harassment known to all employees across the gender divide. Because the law holds employer takes liability for sexual harassment, the organizations should not leave any loopholes for the occurrence of the harassment. The bold stand of an organization against sexual harassment and discrimination should form part of the conditions of work, which employees

sign before they take up their jobs (Lunenburg, 2010, p. 5). In this view therefore, the organization should constitute Anti-harassment policies, publish and post them in all departments and ensure that every employee has access to them. Again, the organization should explain through seminars/workshops what the policies are and their consequences to dispel employees’ possible ignorance ("Sexual Harassment - Prevention of Sexual Harassment," n.d.).

Secondly, the organization should conduct a thorough public awareness campaigns among all employs on the policies of sexual harassment and discrimination. One of the important ways to publicize the policy is by erecting a large signboard at the main entrances of the organization premises with bold writing against sexual harassments and discrimination. For instance, the HR manager can make it mandatory for every office in that institution to have them clearly and strategically displayed (Lunenburg, 2010, p. 5). The third approach to curbing sexual harassment is by designing a suitable complaint procedure. To gain the confidence of employees in the rule of justice, human resource managers should assign an independent office to handle complaints of harassments. The architects of the alleged harassment should not, whatsoever, have any links with the office filing these claims (McLaughlin, Uggen, & Blackstone, 2012)

Preventing future reoccurrence of the harassment once handled. Approaching complaints promptly with objectivity is the best avenue for providing a standard response. This provides this gives the level of seriousness of the problems and the offenders might find it hard to repeat it in the future having seen the dire consequences. The offenders must also be subject to follow-up activities such as counseling and sensitizing campaigns. These will make every firm a beautiful place

to work.

The Victim

The attitude of women regarding sexual harassment plays an importance role in this pursuit. While women are conventionally weak in the presence of their victimizers, their attitude can change the situation. According to Martin (2002), women can logically confront their harassers and tell them to stop their advances. On the same note, employees can maintain their body posture to send a strong warning to the perpetrator. However, Kirst-Ashman and Hull (2008) advice that if the harassment persists, the victim can explore additional avenues like writing a formal letter, protesting through verbal argument and behavior if the harassment persists. Secondly, the victims can prevent social engagements with the harasser even if their job descriptions require so.

Whenever personal and peaceful means does not work, victims must seek legal help such registering complaints with judicial bodies. They can start this process by reporting to superior officers in the department after which immediate legal pursuit is inevitable. Most importantly, every piece of evidence matters in this journey and the victims must keep clean records of the same. Additionally, victims can request their colleagues to testify as witnesses if at all they have witnessed the harassment. Nevertheless, victims who keep quiet on their sexual harassment are simply watering and nurturing the vice. The practice might reach unbearable situations such that more damage will have been done than if it could be the case if they acted in time.

In conclusion, sexual harassment is a deep-rooted problem that stands to retard women’s professional growth if nothing is done at all. In fact, it is collective responsibility that calls for the action of the whole Canadian society including but not limited

to the government, the corporate/employers and the citizens. More campaign should ensue from all corners of the Canadian corporate world. Employees must read and adhere to company policies regarding sexual abuse to avoid unnecessary misconception of this issue. Besides, women must stand firm and instigate the change they are longing for. Silence is not a solution thus they must acquaint themselves with their rights and equally agitate for them.

References

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2. Backhouse, C. (2008). Carnal crimes: Sexual assault law in Canada, 1900-1975. Toronto: Law.
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