The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the world to a standstill. But if we were to look for a silver lining in the whole crisis, it should be the inevitable, yet smooth, shift to the work-from-home scenario. While the opportunities and advantages of having a remote team are manifold, many businesses have been apprehensive about digital workplaces for a long time. Now they have been left with no choice anymore. And this trend is here to stay.
When the COVID-19 scare tails off and the economy slowly limps back, employers and employees will have grown attuned to working from home. Businesses will be eager to cut down overhead costs to make up for the loss. Letting more employees work remotely will be one way of achieving that.
In the post-COVID era, work-from-home will be more popular than ever. While that is an exciting piece of news and comes with a lot of benefits, the question remains:
Are digital workplaces immune to sexual harassment?
Sexual Harassment in Digital Workplaces
Unfortunately, the internet is not an exception when it comes to women’s safety. 25% of young women report that they have been sexually harassed one time or the other online.
While moving to a digital workplace, many women employees are relieved that they don’t have to put up with the physical advances, ‘harmless’ touching, or groping they may come across in the physical world. But the cyber world has its own set of predicaments.
As remote working only grew widespread in the past few weeks, we are yet to see how it unfolds. But one thing is for sure. Abusive and bullying instincts present in normal circumstances will find its way to the cyber world, eventually. The paradox, proximity in separation, which defines internet communication, will catalyze inappropriate behaviors and uncalled-for sexual advances.
Interaction via the internet is easy-flowing and less formal. The relative anonymity and non-confrontational nature of the internet, makes it easy – even if we pass a lewd comment or share something inappropriate with our colleague, we don’t have to face them the next morning!
A new report from Kaspersky, on how the pandemic has taken a toll on the way people work, reveals that 51% of remote workers admitted watching adult content on the device they use for work. This, in turn, spikes the chances of sexual harassment in digital workplaces.
Don’t Miss the Signs!
Online sexual harassment is any sexual misconduct carried out through a digital platform. It wears many colors. To keep them at bay and foster a safe working environment for employees, it is important that we understand what fits into the definition.
A wide spectrum of behaviors, that make use of a digital platform to share messages posts, images, videos, with a sexual undertone will be considered as sexual harassment. The communication could be public or private. If an online interaction makes one feel humiliated, sexualized, threatened, coerced, exploited, or discriminated against based on gender, he/she has been sexually harassed. It doesn’t always have to be physical.
Here are a few types of online sexual misconduct:
- Sexual Bullying
Sexual bullying is defined as any type of bullying – physical or non-physical – where gender or sexuality is used as a weapon, directly or by the use of technology.
It could be thrown at you in person, or happen behind your back.
For instance, if you receive text messages from your colleague or employer that shames your body parts or for your sexuality, it is considered as sexual bullying. But if the bullying happens on a digital platform, like on social media, where you are disgraced publicly for the same reasons, it also fits the description.
- Non-Consensual Image or Video Sharing
Most meetings happen online amid the COVID-19 crisis. We are getting accustomed to Zoom, Hangout, and Skype conferences and even finding it convenient! But the downside is, these videos can be recorded by any of the participants. If these recordings or any other images/videos are used to sexually objectify you, it is sexual harassment.
- Online Threats, Coercion, or Exploitation for Sexual Favors
Are you being threatened online or forced into giving sexual favors like sharing pictures that you are not comfortable sharing? This happens in even the most reputed companies; sexual exploitation in exchange for a job, promotion, or salary hike by an employer or your colleagues. If you’re worried that the employer may retaliate against you for declining sexual advances, you can take legal action.
Although ‘right to work’ is not a fundamental right in India, it is among the directive principles of state policy under Article – 41. Which invariably means your right to work can be enforced in the court of law. Regardless of gender, everyone should be able to work without fear of job loss.
How to Take Action?
Digital sexual harassment is easier to prove than direct offenses. There is always some evidence, a digital footprint of the “act.” These are mostly immutable. But If you believe that you are being sexually harassed, always take screenshots/records of the interaction and save them on your personal drive as a precaution. There is a high possibility that the offender may delete it later.
As a next step, report the issue to your Internal Committee. It is the IC’s duty to study the situation and ensure that justice is done.
The PoSH Act 2013, which protects women from sexual harassment at their place of work, is applicable to digital environments as well. Here, the workplace can be any place visited by the employee during the course of employment. Telecommuting (work from home, making use of the internet, email, and telephone) is also covered under the PoSH law.
Better Prevention Than Cure: Rainmaker’s Online PoSH Training
Rainmaker helps enterprises create ethical, safe, and compliant workspaces through online training and virtual workshops. Our interactive anti-sexual harassment online training modules and engaging videos created in a “short film” format, are easy to follow. Rainmaker’s flagship solution, WorkSafe, helps companies abide by the PoSH law without getting entangled in the complexities.
Let’s foster an all-inclusive workplace, together!
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