Dealing with sexual harassment

DESPITE its many interpretations, sexual harassment has no place in modern-day society.

Women, like all other human beings, must be free and comfortable to co-exist in any space whether it is public, personal and most importantly in her workplace, where this global scourge exists to a larger than to a lesser extent.

Over the past three months, the (International Women’s Resource Network (IWRN) has received no less than ten complaints of sexual harassment from at least three countries.

Some of the victims have described their experience as horrifying in light of their non-compliance of the said sexual demands.

Sexual harassment is deemed to be unwelcomed sexual advances, requests for sexual favours, and other verbal and/or physical conduct of a sexual nature, and in this context, respect must be understood when “No” has been advanced as a response.

“Unwelcome” is the critical word in the definition as it does not mean coercive particularly in extenuating circumstances.

Understanding sexual harassment requires high levels of awareness of the types of actions associated with it. Let’s start with unwanted pressure for dates, unwanted and continuous streams of sexual teasing, jokes, remarks or questions; whistling at someone and the conversion of working discussions into sexual conversations. In other instances the harassment comes via the asking about sexual fantasies and/or preferences; the fabrication of lies and/or spreading rumours about a person’s sex life; offers to massage one’s neck; touching and r rubbing oneself sexually around another person; sexually suggestive signals; facial expressions, winking, throwing kisses or even licking lips. These are just some of the many behaviours that suggest there is a sexual harassment agenda.

Incidents of sexual harassment despite how minute they may seem or who is involved, require an urgent and appropriate response from employers.

Affected women who have sought assistance from the IWRN have been advised to report the incidents to their respective superiors and/or take legal action where necessary, but some of the feedback received has not been very positive, as some of those women have been intimidated and or even threatened with job loss. Within different jurisdictions, various types of remedial measures are available; however, in Trinidad and Tobago, the Equal Opportunity Commission is an avenue for making complaints of sexual harassment.

Women are urged to be continuously observant and vigilant regarding signals deemed to be sexually harassing and/or embarrassing. If these are not addressed in a timely manner, the potential exists for extreme discomfort particularly in the workplace where one needs to be focused in an effort to be productive on a daily basis.

To obtain a copy of the book With Women in Mind: 283-0318 or 795- 9531.

Sandrine Rattan is a communications/ branding consultant, author and president of the International Women’s Resource Network (IWRN) Contact: thecorporatesuitett@ gmail.com or intlwomensresourcenetwork@ gmail.com