The concerns about sexual harassment continue, even as incidents of bullying are coming to the fore. Sexual harassment though can be a form of bullying, especially when the intent is the same – a means to intimidate and also as a kind of discrimination. In the workplace, these incidences continue to occur. It is important for everyone in the workforce, and especially the HR team, to know the POSH policy and is able to appropriately distinguish the two to apply the correct policy. There must be clear cut strategies to develop and enforce policies, complemented by regular training, which together will create a secure workplace environment conducive to progress and growth.

Is Sexual Harassment a Form of Bullying?

Yes, sexual harassment is a form of bullying. It is a blatant abuse of power and position and irrespective of the gender of the abuser in a position of authority, anyone who violates the dignity of another is a bully. Such harassment can involve anyone – boss and subordinate, customer and vendor, and even teacher and student – and it does not necessarily have to be between a male and a female – this form of bullying can occur between the same sex too. The main reasons that sexual harassment continues to rear its ugly head, are tolerance for the behavior and power imbalances.

Sexual harassment is not always about sex, and this overture conceals an important fact about sexual harassment – that it really is bullying. Yes, sex as a form of bullying may provide erogenous pleasure – however, the fact remains that this form of harassment is not about sex alone. Erotic feelings and their reciprocation is a cause of excitement and feeling of adventure in the workplace and as long as it’s consensual, it is absolute fine.  However, it is the responsibility of the management and each person in a workplace to ensure that sexual harassment as bullying and any other form of bullying are completed banned and put in the ‘zero tolerance zone’. There is enough evidence to suggest that someone who is a sexual harasser would also be someone who loves to dominate and make those around them extremely uncomfortable.

What Constitutes Sexual Harassment?

“Sexual favor” as a precondition for employment / continued employment/promotion or privileges / higher compensation / other benefits – constitute sexual harassment. Conversely, being discriminated against, loss of opportunities and or compensation, demotion, and other adverse consequences for not providing sexual favors also constitute sexual harassment. Sexual propositions, suggestive words and looks, leering, intentional touching, obscene messages, sending and posting sexually explicit materials, persistent demands for sex or dates, and others also constitute sexual harassment.

Sometimes there is no ‘physical action or pain’, yet the effect on the victim must not be undermined. Victims could become emotionally and physically stressed, demoralized, remain absent from work, have lowered work productivity and be prone to committing more work errors, and could end up losing their job. Additionally, their personal lives could suffer too. However, this does not end with the individual – the entire workforce would feel the tension and would fear the same happening to them. This, in turn, would result in a weakened workforce, enough to rock the very foundation of the company. These factors necessitate HR best practices including the introduction of anti-sexual harassment policies of the company at the new employee induction stage. This portion of orientation programs must be conducted by a senior member of the organization for a higher impact. It is important and critical that each member of the company, vendors, outsourced staff and any other stakeholders are aware of these policies and any changes made to them.

Victims of Sexual Harassment as a Form of Bullying

While it is true that sexual harassment as an attempt to bully usually occurs against women, it is also perpetrated against men by their women supervisor / higher-level personnel. Sometimes these victims could be trainees and women in non-traditional jobs with male supervisors. Workplace bullying is a generalized form of harassment and creating a hostile work environment, and sexual harassment falls under its ugly gamut. Unfortunately, it disproportionately impacts women, on account of the power imbalances at the workplace.

The sad part is that even if the bully using sexual harassment as a tactic is fired, the victim would continue to feel insecure and uncertain. Questions with regard to whether the bully would engage in victimization, outside of the workplace, or whether the bully would resort to other means to create hell for the victim’s family, and other such questions can prove highly vexing and stressful. If the company is not strong enough on their stance against sexual harassment and bullying, it is usually the victim that ends up leaving a perfectly good job, with little or no impact reaching the malefactor, especially if the perpetrator is a senior member of the organization.

In Conclusion:

Sexual harassment and bullying need to end immediately – most victims report strong, unnerving, haunting, and penetrating fear during the encounter/encounters. The fear is sometimes so intense they feel paralyzed, unable to think, or even react coherently to such a person. It is like the overall mental health of the victim is sapped forever.  Sexual harassment and bullying are clear violations of human rights, and when coupled together form an extremely vile and vicious form of such violation. Sexual harassment as a form of bullying is an abuse of power and trust and has the ability to scar a survivor for life. It is a dire need for companies to invest in the health and well-being of a large group of people, rather than bowing down to the powerful few. This is the shortest path to end sexual harassment and bullying – a path to a healthy, happy, and inclusive workplace that treats all as equal partners.

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