Sexual Harassment Issues - Research Paper Example

The shifting paradigm of globalization and liberalization in society has increased women’s participation in the workforce to contribute to family income. Women are then endangered by sexual harassment which is, perhaps, as old as the very existence of women and this is one of those problems which discourage them from taking an active part in the economic and social development of society (Naveed et al. 222). The increasing cases of sexual harassment today also increased the awareness of the society, thus, more and more women came out to make legal cases against their harassers.

            What are the factors that affect or determine sexual harassment? One of the known factors that determine sexual harassment would be gender. Research has shown that a person’s gender impacts his or her perceptions of sexual harassment. Moreover, women are often more sensitive than men to what constitutes sexual harassment and they often judge the same behavior to be more serious (Fiedler and Blanco 276). So, what was offensive to a woman may not be that of a deal to a man and they usually do not file a case as compared to that of women. In addition to this, culture was also identified as a factor. Different countries have different cultural takes on sexual harassment and, therefore, would have different laws about it. Perceptions of what constitutes sexual harassment vary among and within societies; somehow they depend on how people are socialized within that society, the existence of gender stereotypes, and set notions and hierarchies that may exist in the workplace. And it is because of these reasons that make it is hard to compile a list of harassing conduct that should be prohibited. Some acts are easily identified as harassment, like kissing, fondling, and physical contact with genital areas, while many other kinds of verbal, non-verbal, and physical conduct may not (AWARE 11).     

            The victims of sexual harassment suffer from a variety of psychological and psychiatric disturbances, such as anxiety and depression, sometimes ranging from mild to grave cases depending on the degree or length of time of the harassment. Consequently, it leads to loss of trust in people, loss of confidence, poor self-esteem, fear of being ridiculed, and suicidal ideations. This psychological trauma decreases the performance of the sufferers and may have a long-term effect on individuals leading to the road to mental illnesses (Naveed 223). The society to which these victims belong should not condone the offenders and support the victims. Sometimes the fear of the victims that the society will shun them when they come out stops them from filing a case.

In conclusion, sexual harassment is very rampant these days with an increasing number of women in the workforce and increasing awareness of the offense. Gender and cultural differences in society define the degree of sexual harassment but coming across a universal meaning for it becomes a task indeed. Moreover, since it is very subjective, it is very often that it is hard to know if an act is indeed harassment or not. Its effects on the victims are innumerable but mostly psychological. Society today has been largely affected in a way that they have been more aware that this kind of thing happens in the workplace. Better laws regarding the scope of sexual harassment should be developed in order to give protection to the possible victims of these offenders.