Essay Sample on Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: Traits, Theories, and Prevention

Introduction

The victimization of women in society mostly by men has for a long time, become the primary focus among many researchers. Understanding sexual harassment has, however, proven to be hard in that most cases revolve around rape and sexual coercion. In this case, the author has focused on sexual harassment in the workplace. While previous research has documented the consequences of violence against women, it has failed to highlight the traits of those involved, the theories sounding it, and the possible treatment approaches (Pina, Gannon, & Saunders, 2009). The article seeks to combine several literature reviews and unveil these traits and treatment approaches. With these parameters, it will be easy to understand the concept of sexual harassment and how to go about it.

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Defining sexual harassment is a huge task due to the differences that come with different researchers. While some want it to be distinct from other sexual offenses, others believe that it is a general term. Feminists even have their definition in that it has more to do with political correctness in the workplace. In most workplaces, men discriminate against women, and most decisions are made on their behalf. The jeopardizing of free speech is also seen as a crucial part of the harassment, and perhaps legislation is the best way to protect women in the workplace.

Defining sexual harassment is a contentious debate with many problems manifesting in the process. First, there is a need to identify specific behaviors that are linked to sexual harassment. Most literature fails to recognize nonverbal literature as a form of harassment, while feminist-affiliated authors see it as part of the bigger problem (Schultz, 2006). Secondly, the authors cannot agree on the sides that are affected once there is sexual harassment. In most cases, it happens that the harasser falls into depression after committing the offense. Different nations have a unique way of legally defining harassment, but all of them fail in the context of highlighting the plight of the harassers who, in this case, are men.

Sexual harassment in the workplace is more paramount than any other form of aggression. However, most of the cases go unreported since the victims are not informed on all that entails this form of violence. The authors go further to reveal the traits if the harassers, which is a vital part of the article. The social-demographic aspect shows that men are most likely to be harassers since there is the aspect of hierarchy (Keplinger, Johnson, Kirk & Barnes, 2019). Men are judged according to their behaviors and history in the workplace. Their personalities will always come into question while trying to understand the concept of harassment. It is, however, difficult to measure harassment regardless of the existence of sexual harassment theories.

The authors also try to highlight some of the interventions to this problem. One of them is the development of training programs to focus mainly on organizations that have experienced it. It is, however, unclear whether the training can change and the organization's culture. In most cases, the men involved in the menace have a problem with their attitude about women. In such cases, taking these people to courts of law may not do much since their personalities will not have changed. Instead, counseling may be the best way to go.

Although the authors seem to articulate their issues well, there are many problems in the research. First, it is wrong to paint men as the harassers. In a typical workplace, anyone can be harassed sexually regardless of his or her gender (Whitley & Page, 2015). If anything, more men are harassed, but they opt to remain silent for obvious reasons. Focusing on one gender brings bias to the research making it irrelevant. Although men are always at the center of most harassment cases, they are not always to blame. Authors should thus stay away from promoting feminist ideas in the name of fighting harassment in the workplace.

Additionally, the authors make conclusions so fast without having serious considerations about the same. First, there is the aspect of having a small sample size that does not do the study any justice. Whenever the study population is low, there is a high probability of generating vague results (Morgan, 2003). For any data to make sense, there has to be enough backing on the same, and this has more to do with having a bigger sample size. Conspiracy theories about harassment do not do the readers any good. Instead, they bring more confusion as people are not informed on the ways of approaching certain scenarios. As long as there are no facts, the issue of sexual harassment will never make sense, especially when one gender is the focus.

On the same note, the authors fail to analyze the circumstances that lead to this harassment and where to report it. This will mostly apply when there are seniors involved in the menace. While they recommend such cases to be reported to the management, there are double standards when part of the management is involved. In other cases, it will be difficult to argue your case, especially when there are no witnesses or evidence to prove it. The author should have, therefore, developed a batter mechanism where workers look after one another in the spirit of keeping the harassers at bay.

Understanding sexual harassment is a huge task, even for the philosophers. While it is a collective issue, some authors will have their way and highlight one side of the story, which makes such research articles unreliable. In this case, the author has successfully highlighted the theories and interventions in sexual harassment. However, there is more focus on male harassers, which make the article biased. Additionally, it has relied on vague research to arrive at the conclusions. Debating sexual harassment is hard due to the parameters involved. All philosophers, however, agree that there is a need to do more to overcome the sexual harassment menace.

References

Keplinger, K., Johnson, S. K., Kirk, J. F., & Barnes, L. Y. (2019, July 17). Women at work: Changes in sexual harassment between September 2016 and September 2018. Plos One. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0218313

Morgan, P. L. (2003). Null hypothesis significance testing: Philosophical and practical considerations of a statistical controversy. Exceptionality, 11(4), 209-221.

Pina, A., Gannon, T. A., & Saunders, B. (2009). An overview of the literature on sexual harassment: Perpetrator, theory, and treatment issues. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 14(2), 126-138. https://doi-org.proxytu.researchport.umd.edu/10.1016/j.avb.2009.01.002

Schultz, V. (2006). Understanding sexual harassment law in action: What has gone wrong and what can we do about it. T. Jefferson L. Rev., 29, 1.

Whitley, L., & Page, T. (2015). Sexism at the center: Locating the problem of sexual harassment. New Formations, 86(86), 34-53.