While half of all women in the workplace report experiencing some form of sexual harassment on the job, the issue of sexual harassment of men is starting to get more media attention.
According to a recent survey, about one-third of all working men reported at least one form of sexual harassment in their previous year. Of the 7,809 sexual harassment charges filed in 2011 with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), 16.1% were filed by men. By 2013, this had risen to 17.6%.
Despite the serious consequences that can stem from sexual harassment, whether it involves men or women, sexual harassment against men is often not taken that seriously. There has been extensive research looking at how sexual harassment can affect women, both in terms of the emotional consequences and reduced job prospects, but fewer studies have looked at how men are affected.
When 24-year-old Peter started temping as the secretary for a prestigious New York City real estate firm, he expected a professional environment where he could learn about a booming industry. What he got instead was a different type of education – one that stressed him out and that forever changed his concept of sexual harassment in the workplace.
“I always thought this kind of stuff only happened to women with male bosses”, Peter complained, years later. “But being the only guy in the office, I was the target of a lot of rude comments about my appearance – both good and bad – and the fact that I was a male secretary was joked about incessantly”.
However, Peter didn’t report the offenses to the bosses at the company or at his temping agency. “I wanted to tell someone, but every time I tried to explain I just felt so stupid, so emasculated. I felt better just sweeping it all underneath the rug”.
Men belonging to sexual minorities are particularly vulnerable to sexual harassment which can also overlap with displays of outright homophobia.
Employers and employees often expect men to act as masculine as possible and anything that deviates from that is more likely to be the perpetrators. For example, men who take time off to care for their children may experience more gender harassment in the workplace as a result. Since women are expected to do most of the childcare, men may find their careers affected if they deviate from traditional gender roles. Also, men who openly support feminist causes or who are seen as “unmasculine” may get harassed as well.
When it comes to alleged sexual harassment, more men are standing up for themselves these days. Of the nearly 12,700 sexual harassment complaints filed with the U.s> Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the 2009 fiscal year, 16% - some 2,030 – came from men. That’s up from 9.9%, or roughly 1,430, a decade-and-half earlier. The number of complaints from men increased even as the number of overall cases declined.
Probably the strongest predictor for sexual harassment in a workplace is whether there is widespread tolerance for this kind of treatment. Companies that have strong anti-harassment policies in place provide the best protection for men and women who otherwise find they have no choice but to quit their jobs to escape harassment.For more information please visit...Sexual Harassment
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