FORMS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE
It is important to be able to identify the different types and forms of sexual harassment.
Primary Types of Sexual Harassment
The two primary types of sexual harassment are 1) quid pro quo and 2) hostile work environment.
QUID PRO QUO
The Latin phrase quid pro quo literally means “this for that.” In a quid pro quo situation, a perpetrator requires sexual favors in exchange for conditions of employment. This generally involves an abuse of power. This type of sexual harassment frequently occurs between a supervisor/boss and subordinate and is the most commonly recognized form of sexual harassment (Lonsway & Patrick, 2020).
CASE
Quid Pro Quo
The CEO of a hospital asks a nursing manager to go out for dinner to discuss work. At the restaurant, the CEO describes being in an unhappy marriage and suggests that the nurse might be interested in spending more time together outside work. The nurse responds, “No, I am not interested in that sort of relationship.” The CEO then suggests that the nurse might like to reconsider the offer and that it could even involve a job promotion. While speaking, the CEO touches the nurse’s thigh under the table. The nurse immediately gets up and leaves the restaurant.
At work the following week, the nurse is called into the CEO’s office for a “meeting,” but the CEO does not discuss work business and instead tries to kiss the nurse. The nurse rebuffs the CEO and quickly leaves the office. The following day the director of nursing calls the nurse into their office and states, “I have to inform you that you’re being reassigned to a position as a floor nurse. Your management role is being phased out.”
Discussion
This type of sexual harassment meets the definition of quid pro quo. The CEO implied that the nurse’s positive response to unwanted sexual advances was a condition for a promotion. The nurse’s continued refusal can also be reasonably tied to the nurse’s subsequent demotion.
HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT
A hostile work environment is created by unwelcome sexual conversation, requests for sexual favors, unwanted touch, or offensive remarks that would be perceived as offensive by a reasonable person. A hostile work environment can affect the health and well-being of the healthcare professional and can also impact patient care indirectly.
A hostile work environment exists in cases of:
- Unwelcome sexual advances
- Requests for sexual favors
- Verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature
- Offensive general remarks about a gender
- Other direct or indirect conduct toward the victim that is perceived as offensive
(RAINN, 2023)
CASE
Hostile Work Environment
A physical therapist who works in a rehabilitation facility tells a coworker that she is unable to concentrate on her patients because one of the facility’s maintenance workers is giving her unwanted personal attention. She adds that she is not sleeping well and having headaches and that she is anxious about coming to work out of fear of this other employee. She describes this worker’s behavior as including comments on “how good” she is looking and standing too close for comfort. The coworker has also told her that she looks like she needs a massage and begun to rub her neck even after she has said that she feels “fine” and said directly that she doesn’t want a massage.
Discussion
This maintenance employee’s behavior constitutes sexual harassment because it is creating a hostile work environment for the physical therapist. The harassment includes making unwelcome sexual advances and verbally and physically harassing the physical therapist by making unwanted comments about her looks and by touching her without her permission. These actions are substantially interfering with the physical therapist’s work performance as well as affecting her physical and mental health.
Forms of Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment of either type (quid pro quo or hostile work environment) may appear in various forms, such as sexual coercion; unwanted sexual attention; being subjected to sexual conversation or images; or being subjected to sexual or gender-related insults.
Examples of sexual harassment in the workplace include:
- Implicit or explicit conditions of employment linked to sexual favors (e.g., offering rewards for sexual favors or threatening adverse consequences if they are not received)
- Physical acts of sexual assault or battery
- Verbal or nonverbal requests for sexual favors
- Verbal harassment, including conversation that refers to sexual acts or sexual orientation
- Unwanted touch or physical contact
- Undesired and unwelcome sexual advances
- Discussion of sexual situations or stories in the workplace or with coworkers
- Sexual coercion or pressure for sexual interaction
- Exposure of genitals or touching the genitals
- Displaying or sending unwanted photos, emails, or text messages that are sexual in nature
(RAINN, 2023)
Adverse Effects of Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment in the workplace can lead to a variety of adverse consequences. Sexual harassment is harmful to employees at many levels, including psychological trauma, negative impact on family life, and detrimental effects to the employee’s health and well-being.
It is not only the primary victims who are affected by this form of abuse. Coworkers who observe harassment (bystanders) may also be adversely affected and experience more emotional and psychological consequences than coworkers who do not observe harassment (Acquadro Maran et al., 2022).
Emotional | Mental Health | Physical Health |
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(RAINN, 2023) | ||
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