Outdated, Much? Why Our Sexual Harassment Definition Needs a Serious Facelift

The Term Sexual Harassment Goes Way Back

There's Still No Solidified Definition of Sexual Harassment 

• The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commision (EEOC) has this to say:
  • It is unlawful to harass a person (an applicant or employee) because of that person’s sex. Harassment can include “sexual harassment” or unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature. Harassment does not have to be of a sexual nature, however, and can include offensive remarks about a person’s sex. For example, it is illegal to harass a woman by making offensive comments about women in general. Both the victim and the harasser can be either a woman or a man, and the victim and harasser can be the same sex. Although the law doesn’t prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that are not very serious, harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted). The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or customer
• The U.S. Department of State (DOS) says this:
  • Unwelcome actions such as the following are inappropriate and, depending on the circumstances, may in and of themselves meet the definition of sexual harassment or contribute to a hostile work environment:
    • Sexual pranks, or repeated sexual teasing, jokes, or innuendo, in person or via e-mail;
    • Verbal abuse of a sexual nature
    • Touching or grabbing of a sexual nature
    • Repeatedly standing too close to or brushing up against a person
    • Repeatedly asking a person to socialize during off-duty hours when the person has said no or has indicated he or she is not interested (supervisors, in particular, should be careful not to pressure their employees to socialize)
    • Giving gifts or leaving objects that are sexually suggestive
    • Repeatedly making sexually suggestive gestures
    • Making or posting sexually demeaning or offensive pictures, cartoons or other materials in the workplace
    • Off-duty, unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that affects the work environment
  • Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when:
    •  An employment decision affecting that individual is made because the individual submitted to or rejected the unwelcome conduct.
    • The unwelcome conduct unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile, or abusive work environment. Certain behaviors, such as conditioning promotions, awards, training or other job benefits upon acceptance of unwelcome actions of a sexual nature, are always wrong.
  • A victim of sexual harassment can be a man or a woman. The victim can be of the same sex as the harasser. The harasser can be a supervisor, co-worker, other Department employee, or a non-employee who has a business relationship with the Department.

There Are Loopholes in the Definition of Sexual Harassment