The problem of sexual harassment among men and women in modern society. How to distinguish between flirting and signs of violence, as well as everything about their presence during working hours. Tips for correct behavior to prevent such situations. Sexual harassment is any requirement towards a person, expressed through verbal or physical behavior and aimed at satisfying one's own lust. Offers of this nature are often associated with career manipulation, material rewards, or other forms of blackmail. The victims of this problem are more often young girls and women with attractive appearance. The main place of implementation of such behavior is office enterprises and private firms.
Top Causes of Sexual Harassment
Very often, many victims of sexual harassment wonder what exactly caused this special treatment. Based on the consideration of many cases, it was found that there is no single cause. There are too many of them, and they are individual for each situation. They can also be combined, push each other in order to quickly persuade a person to such behavior. But there are a few points that are more common than others.
Reasons for male sexual harassment
In almost all cases of proven sexual harassment at work, a man is found guilty. Representatives of the strongest link in our society are more often exposed to their temptations and rarely can resist them. Today, there are several factors that can explain their behavior:
- Marriage problems … It is often this kind of personal dissatisfaction that drives many bosses to exercise their privileges during working hours. If at this moment there is an attractive employee in the environment, then they do not miss such a chance for themselves. From this moment, their replacement or revenge on their wife begins by using an innocent girl.
- Career difficulties … It is known that a man is a hunter in life and always tries to take everything from her to the maximum. But if at some point he is overtaken by problems in this area, then his soul undergoes a huge trauma. Demotion causes dissatisfaction, and this, in turn, requires compensation on the nearest person. Men choose this method because it increases their self-esteem, shows their superiority and greatness over their employees.
- Mental trauma … The presence of such a problem in itself makes a person inadequate in the performance of his actions. Sometimes its consequence can be an exacerbation of libido. Such people become even more principled in their desires and cannot control them even in the workplace. Accordingly, this may be the reason for their sexual harassment of employees or subordinates.
Causes of sexual harassment by women
Even despite the fact that girls in such situations more often act as victims, their role in the development of such a situation is also great. All women strive to look perfect in any life situation, even at work. At the same time, many of them do not even suspect that they themselves can provoke elements of violence against themselves.
There are several levers of influence, using which a woman is able to draw a pathological amount of attention to herself. These include:
- Candid outfits … Probably, there is no person who would not understand the reaction of a man to the defiant clothes of girls. Like a red rag for a bull, this sign symbolizes a call to action for them. It encourages you to do something, to pay attention. Naturally, this will all be followed by the appearance of a sexual attraction to such a person, which makes him try in every possible way to bring it to life.
- High-heeled shoes … This item of wardrobe is considered unacceptable for use during working hours. Many psychologists argue that it causes an ambiguous reaction from others and looks vulgar. Men associate such things with an easily accessible path, which they take too literally. As a result, they try to translate the working relationship into an intimate one.
- Challenging behavior … This is a rather incomprehensible sign for many, because not everyone can catch the difference between friendliness and flirting. Women's cunning tricks are often perceived by men a little differently than they would like. And soon a recent cute flirt can turn into a victim of sexual harassment, without even realizing that she herself provoked it.
Key Signs of Sexual Harassment
The problem of sexual harassment is quite loudly discussed in modern society. And although it cannot be called completely new or recently appeared, the look of those around her has become completely different. In today's world, they have ceased to be silent about the existence of such a problem. Today this is stated more and more often and is being fought at every step. The only downside was the fact that few people know how to sort out the fine line between common flirting and harassment.
To fix it, you need to be aware of what constitutes sexual harassment:
- Unpleasant physical contact … The decoding of this concept means any actions on the part of the employer or colleague that cause discomfort. This is unnecessary touching, stroking a leg or arm, inappropriate hugs, pinching, kissing attempts. Any of the above is considered unacceptable unless reciprocated by the victim.
- Sexual requests … Often it takes the form of a hint of a follow-up date, persuasion to go out for a cup of coffee or stay after work. It doesn't matter at all whether these requests contain a condition in the form of a promotion or, conversely, dismissal from work. The very fact of such offers is no longer appropriate and is considered harassment.
- Verbal abuse … Very often, this is the nature of harassment that causes the most harm. After all, specific actions can immediately follow them or linger in order to enjoy such mockery. Sultry jokes about an attractive appearance or outfit, a casually told vulgar joke or a loud discussion of an employee with other team members - there are a lot of options for the development of the situation. They are usually individual for each case. But the result is the same. Therefore, do not be afraid that such behavior is not enough for making claims.
- Complicating work environment … To draw attention not to oneself, psychological intimidation is also often used. The person deliberately finds fault with the employee's work, asks to redo the task or in some other way "appease" the superiors. With their "special" attitude, such people form unbearable everyday life for their victims, forcing them to suffer from the mere thought of meeting or going to work. All this interferes not only with the performance of official duties, but also undermines health, the general emotional state of a person.
- Special attitude … Each person expresses their interest in a different way. Someone prefers quiet and almost imperceptible touches with signs of attention. Others do not like individual methods of communication and make whole performances out of this, trying in every possible way to show their interest, to put their subject of interest in an even more awkward position. They also do not miss the opportunity sometimes to remind her of her duty to repay her special attitude towards herself.
The listed signs are clear confirmation of the presence of sexual harassment, but there are many more indirect signs. They can also indicate its presence. Therefore, one should not wait for the appearance of any special actions in order to draw conclusions and present a remark.
Types of sexual harassment
According to the results of statistical studies, girls and young women are more likely to be exposed to such effects. Men occupy a much smaller percentage in this niche.
It is also worth noting that the representatives of the fair sex are mostly silent about such harassment. Each of them does this for some special reason, it seems to her. Many simply cannot distinguish them from an overly good attitude, others call it insufficient manifestations. Few people know that today there is a whole classification of this type of violence.
There are several types of female sexual harassment:
- Non-verbal … Many girls often notice this look in their direction. They also understand its meaning well, but they just cannot present anything to their offender. After all, everything that he does is impossible to capture with anything other than close shooting with a movie camera. Outwardly, this is manifested by winks, perverted looks and nods. Sometimes there are ambiguous signs in sign language, whistling or other interesting sounds.
- Verbal … This type is characterized by the absence of any action other than expressing one's thoughts aloud. Its manifestations are numerous compliments, indecent statements, jokes and caustic phrases. Each of them necessarily contains a hidden or explicit meaning of a sexual nature. All of this can also be accompanied by passionate glances and eye contact.
- Physical … The most obvious and striking manifestation of harassment. It can also be done in different ways. The person may deliberately use touching, spanking, stroking the leg or other parts of the body, or adjusting situations with close contact. More serious individuals may directly induce sexual intercourse or even resort to attempted rape.
In most cases, there is no single form of harassment. More often it is a combination of two or even three types at once with the alternate use of the techniques of each of them.
How to protect yourself from sexual harassment
This problem of our time is very acute from time to time and damages many people. The fight against it has recently taken on a completely different direction. If earlier such cases at work were hushed up and covered up, now the media are increasingly reporting about them. Much benefit has been gained from efforts to raise public awareness of the sexual harassment of girls. Today, many women have ceased to be afraid and willingly express their opinions on this matter. Still, there are several factors in behavior that need to be changed:
- Attentiveness … Many of the fair sex lack this trait. Once surrounded by unknown people, they often lose their vigilance, are led to cunning male tricks, without even noticing it. This factor needs to be changed. You need to learn to read between the lines and notice any changes in the look or attitude in your direction. This is very important because it helps prevent and prohibit any kind of harassment.
- Ambiguity in behavior … This factor, like no other, requires the elimination of the habit. If a girl does not want to become a victim of sexual harassment, then she should not provoke him with her behavior. Better to forget about using slick phrases with interesting meanings. After all, even if for her it's all just a game, then a man can perceive such signs of attention in a completely different way. Therefore, it is necessary to refrain from such behavior.
- The scope of the allowed … It is very important when meeting any person to immediately establish the boundaries of communication. That is, to make it clear in advance the purpose of such a relationship and outline what goes beyond it. Don't be afraid or embarrassed to talk directly to the person about your intentions. The sooner this happens, the better, because at subsequent stages of the development of relations it will be much more difficult to do. After all, a person will not understand why your behavior suddenly changed and where this new framework of what is allowed comes from.
- Hardness of character … When communicating with representatives of the opposite sex, it was possible to find out that from the first minutes of acquaintance (or even only after a glance), they immediately understand the future development of such communication. Modest demeanor and shyness attract less attention, but, unfortunately, indicate a gentle character. Such people are not inclined to make comments, stand their ground and defend themselves. Therefore, they often become hostages of such situations. To prevent this from happening, you need to learn how to defend your interests, make clear decisions in moments that bring inconvenience and discomfort, correctly respond to inappropriate behavior from the outside and prohibit such cases in the future.
- Fearfulness … Fear is everyone's greatest enemy. His presence at one time or another can not only disrupt all sorts of plans, but also lead many people to a stupor. This also happens to victims of harassment. They are intimidated to such an extent that they are practically unable to refuse forced persistent courtship. Girls very quickly succumb to this influence. They tend to keep silent about what is happening, to allow such behavior towards themselves for fear of losing their job, being exposed and many others. If a person falls under such influence, first of all, you need to understand that there is no place for fear in such a situation. It is necessary to collect your thoughts and quickly fight back when attempts at violence.
- Stealth … The mistake many people who have suffered from sexual harassment have been withholding what is happening. This type of influence makes many people feel ashamed of the current situation. They cannot calmly come and tell someone about what they have experienced or continue to experience. This behavior only makes the situation worse. Because of him, this violence continues to continue with impunity. Therefore, you need to learn how to cope with your emotions and try to tell someone about your experiences. This will help not only cope with stress, but also tell you what to do next, how to behave and where to turn for help.
How to protect yourself from sexual harassment - watch the video:
The topic of sexual harassment can continue almost indefinitely, because it is built on the human factor. The main goal of all people in society is the ability to detect the presence of this problem in time in order to manage to prevent the terrible consequences. It is imperative to take into account the rules of behavior in society and observe decent behavior at work. This will help protect yourself and will not allow you to become a personal provocateur of violence against yourself.
