Sexual harassment is a legal term, created for the purpose of ending harassment and discrimination against women in the workplace. The term is constantly being redefined and extended in legislation and court decisions. However, not all-sexual behavior in the workplace is harassment, and the laws against sexual harassment do not extend to situations outside the workplace or school.
The basic definition of sexual harassment comes from the United Stated Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC):
Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitutes sexual harassment when submission to or rejection of this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.
This definition has been further elaborated:
Sexual harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances, including but not limited to the following:
- The victim as well as the harasser may be a woman or a man. The victim does not have to be of the opposite sex.
- The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, an agent of the employer, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or a non-employee.
- The victim does not have to be the person harassed but could be anyone affected by the offensive conduct.
- Unlawful sexual harassment may occur without economic injury to or discharge of the victim.
- The harasser's conduct must be unwelcome.
Most states also have laws against sexual harassment that may differ slightly from the federal definition. (Wyatt)
The term sexual harassment encompasses a wide range of inappropriate sexual conduct, the most common types being unwanted comments about someone's appearance and inappropriate physical contact. It is your right as an employee to enjoy employment in an environment that is free of sexual harassment and any retaliatory measures you may suffer as a result of attempting to stop the unwanted acts...............
