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The desire to control or conquer someone is thought to be another cause of sexual conflict. Sexual harassment by a male supervisor to a female member of staff is said to be the manifestation of a sexual complex such as this.

The office environment is an important factor regarding sexual harassment. If the atmosphere is conducive to, or supervisors don't try to prevent conduct such as this, sexual harassment is more likely to occur. There is thought to be more of a tendency for this in offices where the majority of employees are male. The attitude of supervisors and colleagues will be a major influence in this. If people believe sexual harassment is an issue that must be resolved privately between the culprit and the victim, there may be more incidents of sexual conflict at work.

 

4 How to Prevent Sexual Harassment

 

Supervisors must take the issue of sexual harassment extremely seriously, as it has a detrimental effect on productivity and human resource development. They must take active measures to prevent sexual harassment. Supervisors are responsible for ensuring a healthy working environment for each employee and should prohibit any form of sexual conduct whether it meets the legal definition of sexual harassment or not.

Offices are a place to work. Employees, male or female, are colleagues there to accomplish the work assigned to their organization. Neither should be subjected to undertones of lust. To prevent sexual harassment, stereotypical attitudes towards gender should be eradicated and employees trained to behave in a considerate and respectful manner towards their fellow colleagues.

There must be an easily accessible support system for victims of sexual harassment and a climate which encourages these victims to come forward with complaints. When sexual harassment occurs, prompt and appropriate action such as a strongly worded warning to the culprit or a report to the manager is extremely important. The interests of the victim must take priority and never those of the offender, no matter how competent they are at their job or how much they have contributed to the organization. Taking no action against the culprit or trying to solve the problem by transferring the victim to another section is no remedy to the damage caused to the victim and will not prevent sexual harassment from recurring.

 

 

 

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