Sexual Harassment: Perpetrating Fear, Intimidation, & Humiliation

  “Hello there! I’m here to provide you with a bit of information on what sexual harassment is, its various facets, and the Indian laws relevant to this abuse. What you, as a survivor, are experiencing, post confronting a traumatic experience is normal. What you, as a bystander, are going through while supporting a survivor is absolutely okay and typical too!  If you need additional resources or just someone to talk to, feel free to reach out to The Neeti Project."

Written By: Pranati Palanivel

What is Sexual Harassment?

Any sexual behavior perpetrated by a person or group of people without your consent and makes you feel humiliated, intimidated or scared is considered as sexual harassment (Rape Crisis England & amp; n.d.).

What Types of Sexual Harassment Exist?

There are 3 common forms of sexual harassment:

1. Verbal sexual harassment: Involves saying anything in a sexual way to someone who is unwilling to receive it. 

Examples include:

• Making sexual jokes
• Making comments on an individual’s appearance
• Usage of sexually inappropriate language 
• Talking in a sexual tone

2. Non - verbal sexual harassment: Involves any form of non-consensual sexual behavior or conduct that does not necessarily include verbal communication and physical sexual contact but still makes the person receiving it uncomfortable.

Examples include :

• Tracking and following
• Sending sexually uncensored videos
• Showing one’s genitals to any individual without consent

3. Physical sexual contact: Any form of physical contact that is unwelcome by the recipient comes under either sexual harassment or sexual assault, depending on the severity of the incident.

Examples of physical contact that are categorized under sexual harassment include: 

• Any of of touching that is unwelcome by an individual
• Grabbing, stroking or pinching
• Inappropriate rubbing of a person’s body or clothes (D'Amore Law Group, 2020). 

Does Sexual Harassment Exist in the Workplace?

• Sexual harassment at workplace includes receiving offensive comments, unwanted 
• physical advances and requests for sexual favors. It can be perpetrated between and amongst coworkers or an between an employer and an employee. 
• Any gender is at risk of experiencing sexual harassment at the workplace but women are more often affected by this form of violation.
• Sexual harassment is a major problem amongst students in educational settings and between professors and students at schools and colleges.  
• Employees hesitate or remain unwilling to report sexual harassment in the workplace, especially women. This is because survivors of sexual harassment at workplaces often have their stories dismissed and their reputation criticized. 
• A possible solution to improve this situation would be for HR departments to introduce better workplace policies and encourage survivors and witnesses of sexual harassment to come forward without the fear of consequences (Muller, n.d.).
• What Can You Do if You Experience Sexual Harassment at Work in India? 
• You can register a report of sexual harassment within 3 months of the incident taking place to the internal complaints committee at your workplace. 
• If your workplace does not have an internal complaints committee, you may register a complaint at the closest local committee. 
• If you are unable to file the complaint on your own, someone else on your behalf can file. 

What do Movies have to do with Sexual Harassment?

• Sexual harassment has been highly normalized and trivialized in the movie industry. It is often considered a “joke” or “casual behavior”. However, sexual harassment is a serious matter.
• Stalking , grabbing a woman's hand in public, harassment of women, etc. have all been normalized by the movie industry and are shown as methods to win one’s heart. 
• Rape is highly mis portrayed in this industry. There are many movies where this form of sexual assault isn’t taken seriously and is, at times, reduced to a mere joke. 
• A recent research studied how audiences were effected by viewing forms of domestic violence and sexualization of young women in movies or media. Media portrayals of sexual assault and rape have been demonstrated to enhance victim blaming. It also influences how women, audiences, police, criminal justice systems, and juries have interpreted and judged female victims in real life. Victims of sexual assault can have serious and long-lasting repercussions upon witnessing glamourized versions of sexual violations on television and cinema.
• Some examples are:
• Popular series on Netflix, Hulu, and HBO have contributed to the long-standing romanticization of violence and sexual assault. Young Jenny Humphrey, is the target of Chuck Bass' rape attempt in Gossip Girl episode one. Chuck uses his wealth and position to objectify women throughout the series, drawing comparisons to the tragically real story of Harvey Weinstein.
• In Vampire Diaries, Damon Salvator frequently forces women to do his bidding and murders them when they are no longer necessary.
• In Game of Thrones, Khal Drogo and Ramsay Bolton both rape and mistreat their wives. Over 50 cases of rape are depicted in Game of Thrones throughout the series.
• These individuals sound like villains, don’t they? Unfortunately this is untrue because many audiences ended up idealizing and loving these characters as these shows progressed (April, 2020) (Raman, 2019).

What Laws in India are Pertinent to Sexual Harassment?

• Punishment for sexual harassment under the section. 354 A of the IPC is imprisonment for a term that may extend to 3 years or a fine or both (M, K. S.,2022).

• If you are a women who has experienced sexual harassment, you can complain online on the website of the Ministry of Women and Child Development through the SHe-Box (Nyaaya, 2022).

***

References

April, M. (2020, July 30). Glamorizing sexual assault in television & film needs to stop. Day One. Retrieved September 16, 2022, from https://www.dayoneny.org/blog/2020/7/30/glamorizing-sexual-assault-in-television-amp-film-needs-to-stop 

D'Amore Law Group. (2020, September 8). The different types of sexual harassment? D'Amore Law Group. Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://damorelaw.com/what-are-the-different-types-of-sexual-harassment/ 

M, K. S. (2022, March 19). Explained: What is posh, the law against sexual harassment in India? The Indian Express. Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/everyday-explainers/explained-posh-law-against-sexual-harassment-in-india-7825733/

Muller, D. (n.d.). The 5 most common types of workplace harassment. Solutions for Employee Relations and HR Case Management. Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://www.hracuity.com/blog/workplace-harassment 

Raman, P. (2019, February 20). How Tamil cinema normalizes and promotes rape culture. Feminism in India. Retrieved September 16, 2022, from https://feminisminindia.com/2019/02/21/tamil-cinema-rape-culture/

Sexual harassment in the workplace. Nyaaya. (2022, January 4). Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://nyaaya.org/legal-explainers/labour-employment/workplace-welfare/sexual-harassment-in-the-workplace/ 

What is sexual harassment? Rape Crisis England & Wales. (n.d.). Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://rapecrisis.org.uk/get-informed/types-of-sexual-violence/what-is-sexual-harassment/