Sexual harassment usually occurs at the women's or men's work
and college and it's an unwelcome and persistent sexual advance, by the use
of power, influence or authority by one person over another. The behavior
is illegal, and it includes, for example, sexual jokes, unwanted touches,
lewd comments, requests for sexual favors and others. The victim of the sexual harassment isn't, necessary, the harassed, but can be anyone who presented
the behavior and finds it offensive and is affected by it.
The harasser, sometimes, imposes conditions to the victim to
stay quiet and remain working. Those who suffer with this kind of problem,
many times, feel weak to stop the situation and fear it. They think that their
complaints won't be taken seriously. There are individuals that drop out of
school, drop courses, change residence, neglect responsibilities or change
their jobs to avoid the aggressor. They also can become irritable, moody and
depressed and have physical symptoms of stress, such as headaches or stomach
problems.
According to the National Council for Research on Women, women
are 9 times more likely than men to quit their jobs, 5 times more likely to
transfer, and 3 times more likely to lose jobs because of harassment. Ignoring
the problem doesn't stop it: silence isn't the answer. The victim shall tell
someone, like friends and colleagues, about the behavior. If it isn't too
heavy, the harassed may talk first directly to the harasser, asking him to
stop, because many times he doesn't know that this behavior is offensive or
constitutes sexual harassment.
Documenting evidences of the abuse is important in a case of
harassment. The victim can make notes of specific comments and behaviors,
dates, keep copies or photograph any offensive material at the workplace,
and keep these proofs at home. Incidents of sexual harassment in school must
be reported to the school counselor or the local superior. The schools responsible
must alert the teachers to distribute information about sexual harassment
to the students. If a criminal behavior, like rape or sexual assault, has
occurred, the victim must report this to the police as soon as possible.
More about Sexual harassment:
Sexual harassment
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