Sexual Harassment in America :: Sexual Harassment Essays

Individual rights are being infringed on all the time in this country. The common law in this country protects against sexual assault and battery, but not sexual harassment. The 1994 Violence Against Women Act has issued guidelines for sexual harassment by the federal agencies but has not set laws to be enforced. These guidelines are supposed to be followed by men and women around our country. People living in the United States should feel safe and comfortable walking down the streets, in the office or in their schools, and that's the bottom line. This essay will inform and relay information about sexual harassment. The issue that is facing this country is recognizing what sexual harassment is and how to combat it. Personally, I think it comes down to an issue of awareness. If everyone knew what sexual harassment was and how to deal with it in a mature manner, we would be able to control this growing problem. We will talk about what to do if you are put in a harassing situation, why this happens and how do deal with it on a personal level. There are several types of sexual harassment, just as there are forms or harassment too. The two most common forms are described as "Quid pro quo," and "hostile environment sexual harassment. "Quid pro quo," is a Latin word for something for something. This is when someone asks directly or indirectly for sexual advances in exchange for something powerful. Only people in power can commit this type of sexual harassment, but still lives in the power verses weak relationship. Good examples of this situation happen in the work force but are also seen in schools. When a teacher threatens to fail a student unless the student agrees to date the teacher, that is quid pro quo(OCR). It does not matter if the student refuses the teachers demands, and suffers the harm of the grade. The harassment is illegal. The other common type of sexual harassment is based upon the idea of comments indirectly or directly said in a hostile environment. This is called hostile environment harassment. This occurs when harassing conduct is so severe or persuasive that it affects the persons ability to be an individual. Regardless what type of harassment that occurs, you must take immediate action or measures to stop this violence.