Sexual harassment has been a contentious issue since the inception of the modern day work environment. The work environment contains elements of superiority and gaining patronage all in favor of professional benefits. These are key elements that lead to the development and festering of sexual harassment. The length of time in which this issue has been prevalent means that there is a lot of literature on the issue. The following literature review looks at some renowned works on the issue of sexual harassment especially as it pertains to third party claims. The review will look at the historical context of the problem as well as the legislative pieces that have been put in place over time to deal with the issue. The review will also identify gaps in the existing literature that prompt the current research on third party sexual harassment claims and the degree to which victims usually have a problem getting justice.
History of asexual harassment
Swisher (2005) looks at the history of sexual harassment right from the coining of the term to definition of elements that qualify as being harassment. According to this source the modern version of the term sexual harassment dates back to 1973. It was first used in the Saturn’s Ring report by Mary Lowe in a report addressed to the chancellor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The institute at the time noted the injuries that had been inflicted on female employees and especially women of color. A conclusion was arrived at that the harassment was racially instigated but also had connotations of sexual harassment.
According to Swisher (2005) the perpetrator of sexual harassment in a work place setting can be anyone. However, people in positions of superiority are usually the biggest culprits. They are motivated by the notion that their level of superiority shields them from the consequences of these actions. The source also points out that the victims of sexual harassment can come from any gender. Usually the notion is that women are the victims and that men are the perpetrators. However, this source dispels this notion by highlighting the fact that male employees can also be harassed with relative ease.
Swisher (2005) gives some very interesting back stories on the development and evolution of sexual harassment. However, there are several gaps in this research that lead to even more questions. First of all there is no mention of third party sexual harassment. There is also no mention of how the legal system has evolved as sexual harassment also evolves over time.
Prevalence of sexual harassment
Sexual harassment is considered a taboo in any work place environment. People found guilty of the practice usually endure strict punitive measures. However, despite this shift in attitude against the vice it seems to be festering in the work place environment. Armstrong and Garrett (2006) look at some of the reasons why this vice has continued to be present in the work place. They note that members of management usually exist in a virtual bubble that separates them socially from the rest of the employees. This means that employees feel like outsiders and highly inferior to these members of management. This feeling of inferiority discourages employees who have been harassed from reporting their case. Even in instances where they report these cases involving a member of management the employee may actually end up being punished.
Armstrong and Garrett (2006) note that in most work place settings the burden of proof in a sexual harassment case is usually placed on the victim. This coupled with lack of witnesses usually discourages employees from coming forward with their harassment claims. The perpetrators of this form of harassment have also evolved in their predatory ways. They have managed to mark out specific areas of their work place environment where they feel free to harass employees. Thus, if an employee makes an inappropriate comment to another employee they will make sure it is in an isolated area with absolutely no witnesses. Such a situation discourages employees from coming forward and reporting such issues.
Gerdes (1999) presents a very interesting facet of sexual harassment in the work place. This entails the perpetrators of this vice using subliminal means to harass employees. The employees who are being harassed may not readily realize that they are being harassed. However, after a given duration of time and deep insight and thought they will realize that they were actually being harassed. This time lapse makes it a lot easier for the perpetrators of the vice to defend themselves or deny the claims all together.
Trends in sexual harassment are also another reason why some victims usually fail to report their cases. According to Gerdes (1999) harassment usually occurs repetitively. The perpetrators usually begin with very mild forms of harassment and increase their intensity as time goes by. The aim of this is to acclimate the victims to harassment. The situation is especially bad when the perpetrators of the harassment use subliminal means to get their message across. The level of repetitiveness creates an environment where employees find themselves defining certain actions from their coworkers as the norm. Since these behaviors have been normalized employees rarely report them and new employees who do report them are painted as outcasts who are not yet in tune with the employee culture in the given place.
The current society has established certain norms with regard to chivalry and the manner in which people of the opposite sex approach each other. According to Browne (2002) men have especially been wired by society to be unrelenting in their pursuit of women. They have been led by society to believe that when a woman says no she actually means yes. Browne also notes that women have been wired to play a bit hard to get. This is clearly a recipe for disaster with regard to sexual harassment in the modern work place. Male employees may pursue female employees in a rather aggressive manner. Female employees may also express their desires but have what they actual mean be misconstrued by the constructs that the society has created.
Browne (2002) notes that in some cases the perpetrators of sexual harassment may not actually know that they are doing something wrong. They may be unaware of the fact that their behavior constitutes sexual harassment. The victims may also fail to report such cases because of the constructs that society has created with regard to chivalry and courtship. Thus, both the victims and perpetrators of sexual harassment may be affected by these constructs leading to some cases failing to be reported to the necessary authorities.
The listed sources present very useful information on the prevalence of sexual harassment in the work place environment. They help to contextualize how such a vice still exists today despite the stringent laws that have been put in place to curb it. However, there are some gaps which have not been covered by these sources. They all deal with first and second party sexual harassment claims. They do not look at third party claims and the manner in which they affect employees in the work place setting. This gap is very significant especially taking into account the manner in which sexual harassment is evolving in the work place setting. Perpetrators of the vice are consistently looking for new ways to dodge the laws that have been put in place to protect employees and create a uniform and formidable work place environment for all employees.
Complicity of management
There have been numerous claims over the years that the management is usually in some instances complicit in sexual harassment cases. Kartsten (2006) looks at the complicity of management in such instances. According to this text complicity is defined as knowing about a sexual harassment incident and doing nothing about it or placing employees in harm’s way with regard to harassment.
Karsten (2006) notes that there are instances where certain employees are placed in certain positions because of the way they look. Their positioning is a means of enticing customers to buy more products. However, this predisposes the employees to sexual harassment. Examples include receptionists and sales people. Receptionists are usually predominantly female. They also have to meet certain societal beauty standards in order to qualify for the job. This is not a coincidence at all. It is by design by the management. However, most members of management fail to acknowledge the fact that this kind of positioning predisposes their employees to harassment of a sexual nature.
Karsten (2006) also notes that in some professions the members of management encourage employees to flirt with customers. This is especially the case for employees working in sales. They may even be trained on the best methods to flirt with customers in order to solicit a purchase. However, this is a practice that creates a precedence for sexual harassment. If employees flirt with customers then they send a certain message to the customers. The customers may feel like they are being encouraged to come onto these employees. Such a situation is another example of members of management placing their employees in the direct line of fire of sexual harassment.
There may be some instances where members of management know about a sexual harassment case or trend in their jurisdiction but do absolutely nothing about it. Keller (2013) looks at the various motivations that members of management have to intervene in a sexual harassment environment. He notes that members of management prefer to keep such cases as quiet as possible and solve them internally without any public attention. This level of secrecy usually results in the victims being shortchanged. It might also result in the perpetrators of harassment getting a mere slap on the wrist as opposed to the harsh punishment that they deserve.
Keller (2013) brings to the forefront the fact that there are some corporate environments where some employees feel like they are untouchable. The role they play in the organization makes them a vital part of it. If they were to be dismissed the organization would suffer significantly in terms of practice. The management may not take the appropriate punitive actions on such employees if they are involves in a sexual harassment case. They may be punished but not to the expected standards. The victims may also be encouraged to keep quiet about the incident and not to draw any public attention. In such a situation the perpetrator of this sexual harassment is likely to repeat these actions since they know that no severe punitive actions will be taken against them
Karsten (2006) comes very close to evaluating third party sexual harassment claims. However, there are some gaps in this literature. The literature does not explicitly mention third party sexual harassment. The literature simply looks at employees being placed in the direct line of fire by members of management. The legal moves at the disposal of the victims are not evaluated and neither is the third party relationship.
Keller (2013) points out some very important facts about sexual harassment in the modern work place. However, a gaping hole in the literature is the fact that it does not touch on third party sexual harassment claims. There is also no mention of the legal avenues that the victims of harassment have at their disposal. The literature comprehensively looks at the complicity of management in sexual harassment and reveals some very important dynamics of the relationship between employees, the management and perpetrators of sexual harassment. The literature also looks at some employees who may be virtually untouchable by virtue of the role they play in the given organization. However, third party sexual harassment and the ensuing legal paradigms are not mentioned in the literature.
Facts and figures
In order to fully contextualize the prevalence of sexual harassment in the work place it is important to look at the facts and figures. Wall (2011) presents the facts and figures on sexual harassment in a very vivid manner. Wall notes that 79% of sexual harassment victims in the work place are women. This is exponentially greater than the number of men reporting sexual harassment in the work place which stands at 21%. Wall notes that the actual number of male victims might be higher. However, societal situations prevent men from coming forward and reporting cases of sexual harassment.
According to Wall (2011) 51% of all people that are sexually harassed at work are harassed by a supervisor. This means that there is a culture where supervisors take advantage of their positions. They harass employees working under them more frequently than any other employee demographic. Wall also notes that 12% of all employees that have been sexually harassed have received threats of termination. They have reported to have received these threats in the event that they did not comply with the wishes of the harassers or went ahead and reported them. However, this number is projected to be a lot higher taking into account the fact that most of the perpetrators of sexual harassment in the work place are supervisors.
Wall also takes a look at the legal framework surrounding sexual harassment cases. According to Wall (2011) sexual harassment is categorized as a form of sexual discrimination. This form of discrimination is a flagrant violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This is a law that prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of religion, gender, race or nationality. It is usually applicable to employers who have fifteen or more employees working for them. Discrimination in the context of this law can be interpreted to mean harassment. Thus, employers are not allowed to engage in acts that either take advantage of the gender of their employees or make them feel uncomfortable. The same applies for inter-employee relations. This law also prohibits employers from discriminating against other employees on the basis of their level of compensation. In essence it prescribes an environment where all employees are social equals despite the differences in their corporate roles.
Types of harassers
Stones (2006) presents some very interesting facts about the types of sexual harassers that exist in the work place environment. The first facet is that of public harassers. These are harassers who are flagrant in their behavior and sexist remarks. They are a rare breed especially in the modern work place environment. This facet of harassment is usually a reserve of the highest members of management since they rely on their level of seniority as a shield for their behavior.
The second facet of harassers, according to Stones (2006) is that of private harassers. This facet makes up the lion’s share of sexual harassers in the modern work place environment. They are characterized by carefully cultivating a restrained image and presenting themselves as respectable people. However, when they are alone with their target their true colors come out. An example is an employee who is usually respectful and compassionate in public all of a sudden making sexist remarks or touching a colleague inappropriately when they are alone. Some employees usually put a lot of effort into cultivating a false image to the extent that harassment claims against them are not readily believed by fellow employees.
Stones (2006) classifies harassment behavior into three main categories. The very first category is that of predatory harassers. These are people who get a thrill from harassing other employees. They may also get a thrill from humiliating their fellow employees. Some of them may engage in harassment in order to see how the victims will react. This class of harassers is very dangerous. They usually intensify their efforts with each harassment incident. If the victim does not take action then the harassment may escalate and culminate in rape.
The second class of harassers, according to Stones (2006) consists of dominance harassers. These are people who harass fellow employees as an avenue for an ego boost. They like to exercise their dominance in the work place and make their presence felt. This is the most common type of sexual harassers in the modern work place environment. They usually use the plight of their fellow employees as a means of giving themselves an ego boost.
The third class is that of territorial harassers. Stones (2006) notes that territorial harassers usually look at the environment they are in before they engage in harassment. They use harassment as a means of maintaining a given aura of privilege in the work place. A prime example is a male employee harassing a female employee in a corporate setting predominantly full of male employees. Such harassers misconstrue environmental dominance as privilege and exercise this privilege in the form of harassment. They assume that their level of dominance will serve them well in the instance that the victim of their harassment decides to take action against them. Territorial harassers usually target new employees and harass them as a means of exercising their territorial dominance. This form of harassment is very similar to bullying and paints a very bad picture of a given corporate setting. It paints the picture of a setting that pays little attention to diversity. Rather, this setting uses diversity as an avenue to sexually harass employees who may be different from the dominant stock.
Aftermath of sexual harassment
The period after a sexual harassment incident can be very hard on the victims. McGowan (1999) looks at some of the reactions that victims have to sexual harassment and the effects that the experience has on them. The literature notes that anger is one of the most common emotions in the aftermath of a sexual harassment incident. The victims may be angry at the perpetrator in personal capacity or they may be angry at their entire demographic. An example is a woman developing anger towards all men after being sexually harassed by a male coworker.
McGowan (1999) notes that other common emotional responses from the victims of sexual harassment are usually embarrassment and annoyance. Embarrassment comes from the knowledge that they have been violated by their coworkers. This embarrassment is one of the reasons why some of the victims of sexual harassment never report their experiences. Secrecy is especially prevalent in situations where embarrassment exists without elements of anger. Annoyance is also a common feeling after a harassment incident. It is a human reaction that usually occurs in situations when people experience things they do not like. Annoyance can be so strong for some victims to the extent that it causes them to quit their jobs or seek alternative employment.
Fear is one of the most common emotional reactions to sexual harassment. According to McGowan the severity of the harassment incident can instill varying levels of fear in the victims. In extreme cases they end up fearing not just the harasser but the entire demographic of the harasser. Fear plays a massive role in the decision by the victim on whether or not to report the case. Harassers usually ensure that they diminish their victims and create an aura of superiority. Thus, the victims may be psychologically tricked into thinking that the harasser is untouchable and very powerful.
McGowan (1999) also looks at some of the long term side effects of sexual harassment in the work place. According to this literature depression is one of these side effects. Victims usually develop depression in the long run especially if they fail to get a semblance of justice after reporting the matter. The literature also notes that victims who have undergone severe sexual harassment at work may develop the same psychological effects as victims of rape. Their psychological patterns may also be similar to those of victims of sexual violence. This literature clearly hints at the severity of sexual harassment in the work place. Even the mildest forms of sexual harassment can have adverse effects on the victims in the short run as well as in the long run.
Orlov and Roumell (1999) look at some of the side effects on victims who fail to report instances of sexual harassment. The literature notes that these victims usually develop isolationist policies. They become less social and do not actively engage their fellow employees in the work place. Instead they prefer to keep to themselves. The literature notes that employees who used to be talkative and active suddenly isolating themselves is one of the signs that they may have been sexually harassed in the work place. This level of isolation may delve past the work place environment. These victims may also become isolated in their personal lives. They may stop hanging out with their friends as often as possible. If they have friends whom are also work colleagues then they may end up cutting these friends off completely.
Social and economic aspects of the lives of the victims of sexual harassment are adversely affected according to Orlov and Roumell (1999). The literature points to the fact that the isolation by the victims affects their participation in economic activities. When they reduce their level of activeness it translates to lost potential in terms of the financial gain they would have made. Thus, the victims usually lose a lot of professional and educational opportunities as a result of sexual harassment. These are grave consequences to say the least. They further motivate the need for a zero tolerance policy with regard to sexual harassment.
According to Orlov and Roumell (1999) there are some instances where coming forward and reporting instances of sexual harassment by a victim might backfire socially. The colleagues of this employee may fail to sympathize with their plight. Instead the victim might end up being objectified by colleagues and further humiliated through gossip. They may have their character completely defamed by their colleagues. This is as a result of the societal setting to always blame the victim. Blaming the victim in such an instance discourages any other people from coming forward and reporting instances of sexual harassment. It also denies the victim a conducive environment in which to recover from the horrific experience.
The literature further explores the effects of sexual harassment on the marital or romantic lives of the victims. The experience is likely to affect their perception of their own sexual life. If the victim develops a low libido as a result of the experience then it might lead to a strained relationship with their marital partner (Orlov, Roumell, 1999). This leads to strained marriages and romantic relationships. This literature is very informative in terms of analysis of the effects of sexual harassment ion the victims. It actually reveals how the experience can affect all the areas of the victim’s life. Most people usually focus exclusively on the professional and social effects of sexual harassment at work. However, the personal effects may just be as severe. The experience can cause the victim to lose or be backtracked in almost all aspects of their lives (Orlov, Roumell, 1999). Thus, the victims are the ultimate losers. This is an unideal situation that can only be remedied through the creation of a corporate environment that is devoid of any form of sexual harassment.
Backlash and retaliation
Contrary to what people may think reporting a work place sexual assault incident does not usually have the bliss and justice that most victims hope for. Levy and Paludi (2002) present very interesting scenarios that usually ensue after a person makes a work place sexual harassment complaint. They note that the victims are usually treated in a similar manner as rape and sexual violence victims. They immediately become the accused. Their private lives are scrutinized all in the hope of finding information that places them at fault in an instance where they were the victims. This convoluted thinking and action plan in the corporate scene is one of the main reasons why most victims of work place sexual harassment prefer to keep to themselves.
Levy and Paludi (2002) note that most of the victims of sexual harassment in the work place are usually women. However, they also note that women in the work environment rarely support each other in the face of a sexual harassment complaint. This lack of sticking together is one of the main reasons why the problem has festered for a very long time. They cite jealousy over the sexual attention that the victim received as one of the reasons why they never stick together in a situation where unity could see them make a lot of valuable gains.
According to Levy and Paludi (2002) modern day employers never fire their employees who have made sexual harassment claims. The society is more vigilant on such issues and the backlash on the employer would be monumental. However, this does not stop employers from professionally punishing these employees. One of the main tactics that they use is shifting the employees. An employee who works in finance can be moved to a less prestigious sector all because they have made a sexual harassment claim. This clearly constitutes to the victim being punished for speaking out about the vile transgressed upon them. However, lack of support from other employees usually sees these victims suffer even more as a result of such policies from their employers.
The literature focuses more on women as victims of sexual assault in the work place. When women report instances of sexual assault they may be categorized as trouble makers. This deters male employees from wanting to associate with them in any way. If there is a team building exercise it is common to find male employees trying very hard to stay away from female employees who have made sexual harassment claims. The authors note that the male employees may not have any ill will with these actions. They may simply be protecting themselves and trying to avoid the notion of becoming a circumstantial victim. However, this is a practice that adversely affects female employees. They are subjected to a hostile work place environment and they suffer from lack of mentorship and networking. This in turn affects their professional development.
Keller (2013) looks at some of the elements in the work place that constitute sexual harassment. The very first is subjecting employees to sexual statements. Comments of a sexual nature are generally considered taboo in the work place. This is especially the case when these comments objectify the employee they are aimed at. However, this does not mean that employees are prohibited from giving each other complements. In fact the development of a work place romance is very common in the United States and other countries in the developed world. However, employees have to gauge the intensity of their statements, the audience and the reaction it will elicit out of the audience.
Unwelcome physical contact, according to Keller (2013), is one of the precedents that constitute sexual harassment in the work place. There are rarely instances where physical contact is necessary in the modern work place. Thus, when such contact occurs a lot can be read into it. Unwelcome contact is one of the red flags that points to sexual harassment. This is especially the case when the victim expresses their displeasure at this contact but their concerns are ignored.
Keller (2013) notes that there are some employees who may expose their colleagues to highly sexualized material. This could be something as severe as sending a pornographic video to something as seemingly innocent as sending a text message with sexual undertones.
There are rarely any instances where exposure to sexualized material is a necessity in the work place. Employees who find themselves exposed to such material have a reason to panic. Employers are also encouraged to look out for sexualized material that may be making rounds in their employee base. There are some instances where the employers are the ones who expose the employees to sexualized material. Examples include the employees being required to dress in a manner that objectifies them. Such situations may be difficult for employees since lack of compliance may lead to termination. However, the employees need to understand that they have every right to express their displeasure and even seek legal action against their employer.
Research gaps
The resources analyzed in this literature review provide some very interesting facts about sexual harassment in the work place. They help to contextualize the vice and the manner in which it manifests itself in the modern setting. They also help to look at the impact that sexual harassment in the work place has on people. In addition to this they help to build a vivid picture of how the life of the victim is transformed if they report the issue or if they fail to report it. A resounding theme is the fact that the victim is usually the ultimate loser. Thus, the best way to protect the victims is to build a work place environment that is completely devoid of any form of sexual harassment.
Despite the stellar revelations made by the analyzed literature there are still some massive gaps that need to be filled out. One of these gaps is the fact that they do not focus on third party sexual harassment. This is harassment by a person who does not work for a given organization but is connected to the organization in one way or another. Examples include customer care employees receiving sexualized comments from customers or receptionists being sexually harassed by business partners or clients. This is a growing problem in the work place environment and needs to be immediately addressed.
The sources also fail to look at the burden of proof when it comes to sexual harassment claims. They do not delve into whether or not the victims have to prove that they were sexually harassed or if the accused party has to prove their innocence. This is yet another problem that presents itself when it comes to third party sexual harassment claims. In the latter case the burden of proof rests exclusively with the victim. The dynamics of the relationship between the victim and their employer might also affect the outcome of the scenario.
Most of the sources look at the actual mechanics of sexual harassment in the work place. They do not focus so much on the legal paradigm of the issue. There are laws governing such situations. They also fail to take a deep look at the human resource department and the role that it ultimately plays in the instance of a sexual harassment claim in the work place. This department primarily has to investigate the issue and ensure that justice is served. Its pivotal role is barely emphasized on in the reviewed literature pointing at a gap that is pivotal to future researchers.
The current research will focus on third party sexual harassment claims and the laws that come into play in such a situation. There will also be an emphasis on the human resource department and the role that it plays in the instance that an employee makes a claim of being sexually harassed by a third party. The dynamics of the relationship between the employer and the third party will also be analyzed and its potential impact on the case laid out. In essence this research will focus on the major gaps that have been proven to exist in the sources that have been analyzed. It will have a futuristic outlook as opposed to trying to reinvent the wheel. The research will move forward and look at areas that the past literature failed to cover while at the same time building on the knowledge precedence that has been set by the past literature.
References
Achampong, F. (1999). Workplace sexual harassment law: Principles, landmark developments, and framework for effective risk management. Westport, CT: Quorum Books.
Armstrong, T., & Garrett, L. (2006). Sexual harassment: A commonsense approach : employee version. Mill Valley, CA: Kantola Productions.
Browne, K. (2002). Biology at Work: Rethinking Sexual Equality. Piscataway: Rutgers University Press.
Gerdes, L. I. (1999). Sexual harassment. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press.
Karsten, M. F. (2006). Management, gender, and race in the 21st century. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.
Keller, J. J. (2013). Sexual harassment: Training for supervisors & employees. Neenah, WI: J.J. Keller & Associates.
Levy, A., &Paludi, M. A. (2002). Workplace sexual harassment. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
McGowan, K. (1999). Sexual harassment. San Diego, CA: Lucent Books.
Orlov, D., & Roumell, M. T. (1999). What every manager needs to know about sexual harassment. New York: American Management Association.
Swisher, K. (2005). What is sexual harassment? San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press.
Stones, M. H. (2006). Defining sexual harassment: Third-party perceptions. Ottawa: National Library of Canada.
Wall, E. (2011). Sexual harassment: Confrontations and decisions. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books.
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David Mark Davis II Second Paper: The Literature Review
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