Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment encompasses a wide variety of activities, from sidelong stares and crude
jokes to degrading statements based on gender stereotypes, as well as sexual assault and other
forms of physical violence. Although the legal meaning differs from nation to country, it is
often recognized to refer to unwanted and inappropriate sex-related behavior. A very broad
definition of sexual harassment includes any unwanted sexual advance, request for sexual
favor, verbal or physical sexual action or gesture, or any other sexual activity that may
reasonably be anticipated or perceived to cause offense or embarrassment to another. Such
harassment may, but is not required to, interfere with work, be made a condition of
employment, or create an intimidating, hostile, or unpleasant work environment. Sexual
assault is always regarded as both sexual harassment and a criminal offense. Suggestive jokes
or offensive statements addressed towards one sex may or may not be deemed sexual
harassment under the law, depending on the context and frequency. Furthermore, there is no
apparent distinction between unpleasant courting approaches and sexual harassment. It is
even more difficult to quantify the degree of sexual harassment since people react differently
to objectively comparable behavior. Furthermore, women prefer to limit the word "sexual
harassment" to more serious manifestations, such as sexual assault.