What is Sexual Harassment?
There are two types of sexual harassment:
"Quid Pro Quo" (Latin for "this for that") sexual harassment is when someone makes an employee put up with or accept sexual advances or other sexual behaviors in order to gain or keep a job or gain any other work benefit.
"Hostile Work Environment" sexual harassment occurs when unwelcome comments or behavior based on sex interferes with an employee's work or creates a very uncomfortable, unfriendly, or upsetting work environment. The employee may experience sexual harassment even if the rude and unwelcome conduct was not aimed directly at them
Sexual harassment behaviors include but are not limited to:
- Unwanted sexual attention;
- Offering benefits in exchange for sexual favors;
- Threatening to do something to get even with a person after receiving a negative response to sexual attention;
- Staring that makes the person being looked at uncomfortable; sexual movements w/ the body; or displaying objects, pictures, cartoons, or posters that make a person thein of sex;
- Insulting or rude comments about sex;
- Rude name calling, slurs or jokes that are about sex;
- Sexual words, comments, messages or invitations that make a person feel uncomfortable;
- Unwanted physical touching or assault; or
- Stopping or blocking a person's movements.
Harassment does not have to of a sexual nature and can include rude and hurtful remarks about a person's sex or gender. For example, it is illegal to harass a woman by making rude comments about women in general.
Both the victim and the harasser can be either a woman or a man, and the victim and the harasser can be the same sex/gender.