WHAT AMOUNTS TO SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN A WORKPLACE ?.

The first thing George does is to give a hug to each employee every morning he comes into the office. For the new employees, he even pecks them on the forehead. Susan as a new employee at this workplace found this practice strange and even privately told George that she is not comfortable with it. He however told her that if she continues to act like this, it means that she does not want to be part of the ‘office family’ and she will miss out on their benefits. Susan asked the other employees and they told her it was normal and there was nothing to worry about. Susan wants to know if it is her overreacting or if this is wrong.

WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY?

In Uganda, there is a law called the Employment (Sexual Harassment) Regulations 2012 that talks about what amounts to sexual harassment in the workplace. This law says that sexual harassment in the workplace is any direct or indirect request for sexual contact or any sexual activity with a promise that there will be different treatment of the person who accepts or those who refuse to accept it. This promise can be about present or future status in the workplace. For example, if your boss tells you to do something or you will not get a good appraisal at the end of the year, this is a future action, and it still amounts to sexual harassment.

Sexual harassment can also be use of language that is of a sexual nature such as jokes, obscene flirtations and even requests for sexual favours. For example, jokes about how ‘curvy’ a workmate is or that she is ‘wife material’ amount to sexual harassment.

In the case of Susan, sexual harassment can also be any physical behavior of a sexual nature such as unwanted and unwelcome touching, patting, pinching or any other unasked for physical contact; For example, since Susan does not want to be hugged or pecked by George, this is sexual harassment.

What makes an act/conduct a form of sexual harassment in the workplace is that it must have a negative effect on that employee's employment, job performance or job satisfaction. It does not have to be repeated for it to be sexual harassment.

📷:Unsplash

https://theinformersdotcom.wordpress.com/2022/06/23/what-amounts-to-sexual-harassment-in-a-workplace/

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