Sexual Harassment in US

Sexual Harassment in US

Introduction

Sexual harassment refers to any unwelcomed behavior form one person to another - of a sexual nature. Sexual harassment is often associated with the deliberate abuse of power. The level of harassment incurred varies from person to person. It is a global phenomenon and takes place all over the world including US.

Discussion

Acts of sexual violence, including rape, are persistent problems in today's world. Sexual violence is defined as sexual acts perpetrated against someone's will. These acts may be a result of force, threats of force, or other acts of coercion, and may be perpetrated by an individual known or unknown to the victim. Approximately 7.7 percent of women report being raped by an intimate partner throughout their life (McKinney, 2008).

Marital rape is also a widespread problem, and was previously not recognized as a crime or therefore prosecuted through the justice system. It was not until 1986 that the Federal Sexual Abuse Act criminalized marital rape throughout the United States. Sexual violence is particularly difficult to accurately measure, and is further complicated by significant rates of underreporting of sexual violence.

Cultural variables also play an important part in determining harassment of sexual nature. For example, what might be deemed appropriate in a Western culture might be deemed derogatory or unacceptable in an eastern culture. The prevalence of sexual harassment among women is quite high as compared to men. However, both could be subject to sexual harassment at work. According to an estimate, more than 50% of employed women have experienced sexual harassment in some form. It does not necessarily happen to women who work in offices with high male populations, but could happen to anyone regardless of the gender based population. Sexual harassment could be of verbal, non-verbal or physical nature (Sandy, 2002).

Types of Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment can be verbal such as; making rude comments about someone, but not necessarily through words. However, in some cases the stalkers might also use the help of devices such as cell phones, and mediums such as social networking sites to sexually harass someone such as; sending inappropriate and offensive text messages, or posting inappropriate videos. Following are some of the most common forms of sexual harassment.

Verbal sexual harassment

This type of sexual harassment includes inappropriate sexual jokes, or the demand for sexual fantasies, comments on homophobic slurs and gender of a person or deeming his or her sexuality, along with discussions on working deviated sexual themes. It also includes; requests for certain sexual favors, often linked to promotion. These types of requests are mostly made my employers to their subordinate employees (Collins, 2004).

Nonverbal sexual harassment

This form of sexual harassment include wheezing, glances with sexual connotations, the display of degrading or pornographic materials, signs of explicit sexual nature such as; licking the lips as a sign of sexual invitation, the continuous presence of harasser, notes to sexual or gender.

Physical sexual harassment

This harassment includes intentional touches that seem accidental touching and physical touching such as patting on the back, tickle, pinch, ...