Sexual Harassment

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is a topic that many people do not like to discuss. Although we would like to believe that sexual harassment is a thing of the past, in fact it remains widespread and is very common within the workplace. Sexual harassment falls into two categories which are verbal and physical. Sexual harassment is primarily an issue of power, it occurs when a person with power abuses that power towards another individual. In this paper, one will discuss what constitutes sexual harassment, how it differ from gender discrimination, and describe two types of sexual harassment that include quid pro quo, and hostile environment. One will also discuss the behavior that is considered to be harassment and unreasonable behavior.

Sexual harassment is unwelcomed sexual advances or behavior and offensive to the recipient. The conduct can be physical or verbal and take place in the workplace, school or elsewhere. The harasser can be of either gender and does not have to be of the opposite sex.

Sexual harassment differ from gender discrimination because sexual harassment is unwelcomed behavior and gender discrimination exits when a person or group of people are treated unfairly solely on the basis of their biological sex. Under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 both men and women are protected from gender-based discrimination. Gender discrimination occurs in many forms, such as when a woman does not get a raise because her boss believes that she is on the mommy track.

Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment is a simpler term for “this for that.” Quid pro quo harassment occurs when some benefit of employment depends on an employee’s submission of unwelcome sexual conduct or request. Quid pro quo sexual harassment is usually easy to recognize. It occurs when job benefits, promotion, salary increases, performance expectations, or other conditions of employment contingent on the request occur. One example of this type of conduct would...