Sexual harassment
Both men and women have to deal with sexual harassment.
If someone is constantly giving you unwelcome sexual attention then this is probably sexual harassment. Both men and women have to deal with sexual harassment and it can happen anywhere: at a party, in the office, on the street, in a bar, in the gym or at home.
Sexual harassment can be:
- Unwanted physical contact. Slapping your arse or touching you in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable.
- If you are asked for sexual favours. This could be a boss who expects you to sleep with them or a colleague who constantly jokes about you giving them a blowjob.
- Questions or comments about your sex life.
- Teasing or abuse about your sexuality, if you’re gay, bisexual or transvestite.
- Offensive or embarrassing comments about how you look.
- Anything that is sexually offensive, humiliating or intimidating to you. This could be when someone constantly stares at your ass, rude remarks, sleazy chat up lines when you’re obviously not interested or any other sexual contact that makes you feel uncomfortable.
Sexual harassment at work
It can be very difficult and even frightening to do something about harassment. It helps if you have support from a friend or colleague. Remember that you’re probably not the first person to be harassed or bullied by whoever’s doing it but you might be the first to complain. Look for support from other people in your situation or who’ve seen what’s happening to you.
If you are being harassed, bullied or intimidated by someone or a group of people:
- First make it clear to the person who is harassing you that it’s unacceptable and offensive. You can do that in person or in writing. Keep a copy of the email or letter.
- If this is too difficult or you’re frightened, ask a colleague or friend to support you and to be there when you talk to the person harassing you.
- Report the harassment to a manager or someone in authority. If a boss or senior is harassing you then make the complaint to somebody else in charge.
- If the harassment continues make a formal complaint to your workplace or company. Write a letter of complaint with details of the harassment and make sure to keep a copy.
- Talk to a doctor if you’re suffering from stress because of the harassment. Get a medical report as proof of the damage to your health.
- An employer can’t punish you if you report them for harassment or discrimination. This means it’s illegal for them to fire you or treat you differently after you make a formal complaint.
- Contact a Citizens Advice Bureau or the Equality Commission in Northern Ireland or the Equality Authority in Ireland for advice.
Is Sexual Harassment common at work?
Thankfully statistics appear to show that sexual harassment is not as frequent a problem as bullying. It is important to point out, however, that according to a recent study conducted for the European Commission, 40-50% of women in the EU considered that they had been sexually harassed at least once in their working lives and 10% of men.
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