Sexual Harassment

What is Sexual Harassment?

Sexual harassment consists of unwelcome visual, verbal or physical behavior of a sexual nature that interferes with a persons education. Sexual harassment is illegal Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits sex discrimination, including sexual harassment. (As defined by the Iowa Civil Rights Commission.) Sexual harassment is a real and serious problem that can affect any child or youth regardless of gender, race, or age. It can threaten physical or emotional well-being, influence school performance, and make it difficult to achieve career goals.

There are two types of harassment:

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1) When a person in authority demands sexual favors in return for a benefit for the child or youth, or 2) When a child or youth is subjected to sexual conduct that creates an offensive, hostile or intimidating atmosphere.

. . Sexual harassment includes many things...

Actual or attempted rape or sexual assault. Unwanted pressure for sexual favors. Unwanted deliberate touching, leaning over,

 Unwanted pressure for dates. Unwanted sexual teasing, jokes, remarks, or questions. Referring to an adult as a girl, hunk, doll, babe, or honey. Whistling at someone. Cat calls. Sexual comments. Turning work discussions to sexual topics. Sexual innuendos or stories. Asking about sexual fantasies, preferences, or history. Personal questions about social or sexual life. Sexual comments about a person's clothing, anatomy, or looks. Kissing sounds, howling, and smacking lips. Telling lies or spreading rumors about a person's personal sex life. Neck massage. Touching an employee's clothing, hair, or body. Giving personal gifts. Hanging around a person. Hugging, kissing, patting, or stroking.

 Touching or rubbing oneself sexually around another person. Standing close or brushing up against a person. Looking a person up and down (elevator eyes). Staring at someone. Sexually suggestive signals. Facial expressions, winking, throwing kisses, or licking lips. Making sexual gestures with hands or through body movements.

Examples VERBAL Referring to an adult as a girl, hunk, doll, babe, or honey Whistling at someone, cat calls Making sexual comments about a person's body Making sexual comments or innuendos Turning work discussions to sexual topics Telling sexual jokes or stories Asking about sexual fantasies, preferences, or history Asking personal questions about social or sexual life Making kissing sounds, howling, and smacking lips

 Making sexual comments about a person's clothing, anatomy, or looks Repeatedly asking out a person who is not interested Telling lies or spreading rumors about a person's personal sex life

NON-VERBAL Looking a person up and down (Elevator eyes) Staring at someone Blocking a person's path Following the person Giving personal gifts Displaying sexually suggestive visuals Making sexual gestures with hands or through body movements Making facial expressions such as winking, throwing kisses, or licking lips PHYSICAL

Giving a massage around the neck or shoulders Touching the person's clothing, hair, or body Hugging, kissing, patting, or stroking Touching or rubbing oneself sexually around another person Standing close or brushing up against another person

Definition of child
For the purposes of the present Convention, a child means every human being below the age of 18 years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier.

Tips for Avoiding Sexual Harassment

Ak your parents to distinguish between flirting and sexual harassment and give examples of each. Make sure your children understand that sexual harassment is a form of violence and that it is illegal. Be alert to any of the following symptoms chronic anxiety, concentration problems, withdrawn or depressed behavior, insomnia, body image problems, fear of going to school, or wanting to drop courses. Discuss concerns with your pediatrician, family practitioner, religious leader, or mental health worker. tell any incidents that make you feel bad, embarrassed, scared, or uncomfortable.to your parents or a trusted adult

Request to see a written policy on sexual harassment at your children's schools. If a school doesn't have a policy in place, work with other concerned parents and staff to establish one. Meet with the school principal to gain support for a sexual harassment prevention program in your school. If you report an in-school sexual harassment incident to school officials without getting results, contact your state department of education to file a formal complaint. Always remember... not to blame yourself. Sexual harassment is not something one brings on oneself.

not to delay. Delay in action in cases of sexual harassment only increases the probability that the harassing behavior will continue. not to hesitate to seek help. Being quiet about sexual harassment enables it to continue. Chances are very good that you are not the only one who has been harassed. Speaking up may prevent others from being harmed.

Sexual Harassment Women

These days the number of cases of sexual harassment of women is alarmingly high. Women face sexual harassment in public places and offices and even in their own houses and hence it has become essential for them to know their rights as well as attain justice for any kind of misbehaviour or sexual harassment. In order to protect them and help them receive justice the law makers of our country have made specific provisions in the Indian Penal Code. The following are the ways in which a woman can be sexually harassed:

Eve teasing, assaulting a women, using gestures or words which harm the modesty of a women in society and the same are considered as crimes. All women should be acquainted with the remedies provided to them for their protection by the legislation. If any such crime is committed one should file an FIR in the police station. If the accused is found guilty he can be put behind bars. The period of imprisonment varies depending upon the crime. For eve teasing it is usually for a period extending up to 3 months or a fine or both. In cases of assault it is 2 years imprisonment or fine, or both. The punishment for rape is Imprisonment for life or 10 years and fine. Eve teasing (an English phrase) refers to all forms of harassment women face in public spaces that are considered trivial, funny and part of everyday life, thus acting as normal mechanisms legitimizing harassment by positioning the very presence of women in public spaces as provocative. Recently, a web page meant exclusively for dealing with cases of sexual harassment and other crime against women on the cards, women will soon have an easier way of dealing with such situations. This would also help doing away with the need of going to the nearby police station for filing a complaint or dialing 100 to reach the cops. The web page would give women an opportunity to narrate their experiences online anonymously and also upload evidence, nailing the culprits.

PLACES WHERE SEXUAL HARASSMENT CAN OCCUR

House-by spouse, friends, relatives, outsiders, domestic help, other helpersdrivers,washermen/women etc Work-by boss, colleagues Public places-travelling-bus, metro, auto, in car by other drivers/passengers Clubs/hotels/restaurants/lounge/parties/cafes Any other place

The problem of harassment is not restricted to women and children only, men also have to face various forms of harassment. Some of them are as follows:

Some common forms of harassment of men According to the reports which are contrary to the popular belief, men do face sexual harassment at workplace and others which is more often than not is discomforting. Some common forms of harassment that males face from their female colleagues in the workplace: * Lewd remarks about the dressing sense of men * Bold comments about physique and physical appearance of men * Uncanny close approach by a female colleague towards a male colleague while trying to discuss some official matters * Calling a male colleague inside a cabin and trying to talk personal matters with him in office hours * Requesting a male colleague to stay back late at night and accompany or ask for a drop. * Female colleagues wearing revealing clothes that make the professional atmosphere uncomfortable. * Talking about sexual matters freely with a male colleague despite his discomfiture to the same and ignoring his warnings at times to not to discuss such matters with him. * Asking out a male colleague. Male harassment in India Judging from the findings of a recent Economic Times-Synovate survey, the men need to be incorporated in sexual harassment bill ASAP. Of the 527 people queried across seven cities - Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune - 19% said

they have faced some kind of sexual harassment at office. In Bangalore, 51% of the respondents had been sexually harassed, while in Delhi and Hyderabad, 31% and 28% of those surveyed said they had been sexually harassed. Around 38% of the respondents across 7 cities in India said that in today's workplaces, "men are as vulnerable to sexual harassment as women." The biggest reason why these cases were never reported was "social ridicule" and because they felt they wouldn't be believed due to India's social beliefs. Across the world During 2009, 16% of all sexual harassment cases were filed by men in the US (and more than 2,200 men filed complaints in 2008). According to a 2006 government study in the United Kingdom, two out of five sexual harassment victims in the UK were male, with 8% percent of all sexual harassment complaints to the Equal Opportunities Commission (Britain's EEOC), coming from men. Some real life incidents: There was a case reported in which a male employee was continuously harassed by a much elder woman in office, as she groped him many times, asked him to stay till late in office and perform certain undesirable acts. When the victim resisted, she became angry and fired him later on the grounds of incompetency of work. He made various complaints but no one paid heed to it and never took any action on the matter. In another case, a male trainee who joined the company was constantly harassed by a woman twice his age. Often, she used to send him indecent pictures of herself to provoke him sexually. She also used to grope him many times. When he tried to inform this to his seniors and other people in management, they all didnt take any action and ultimately he had to move out of the firm with utmost shame. With all such cases of sexual harassment on men and with pressure mounting from Mens Right Association and other areas, Government has finally decided to conduct a study research on this topic and is contemplating of including men in the Sexual Harassment at
Workplace Bill.

HOW TO PREVENT SEXUAL ABUSE

1. Act confidently
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Weak individuals are often targeted as victims. By acting and speaking in strong ways, individuals take themselves out of many situations where harassment may occur. Let others know sexual harassment will not be tolerated. If a person makes a lewd comment, ask them not to. Keep your position on the matter clear. Dress and act modestly

It is important to understand that some people put themselves, unknowingly, in questionable situations. They may be interpreted as welcoming such advances by dressing or acting inappropriately. It is never the victim's fault if sexual harassment occurs, but it is important to distance yourself as much as possible from situations where such actions can take place. Keep appropriate company Do not maintain relationships with individuals around whom you are uncomfortable. Distance yourself from individuals who seem to be preoccupied with thoughts, words and actions of a sexual nature. Find friends that can be trusted and appreciated. Have things in common, such as senses of humor and jobs.

Contact an NGO : a) ARPAN : can provide professional help and support in dealing with all the stages of support for Child sexual abuse ,ranging from counseling to legal steps. Contact Person: Ms.Pushpa; Phone: 9819086444 b) RAHI: It specializes in working with victims of childhood sexual abuse and offers services that are uniquely important to their recovery process. Contact Person: Ms. Kalpana Mishra; Phone: 9811056662

Therapy for Dealing with abuse

Play therapy Play therapy helps children cope with emotional stress or trauma, by allowing them to alter the world on a smaller platform - through their toys. When children play in a certain manner with certain toys, they play out their feelings so that they can deal with them.

When a therapist absorbs what the child feels, the child begins to free its repressed thoughts. Projective techniques Projective techniques such as the Rorschach or the human figure drawings help detect child sexual abuse. In a Rorschach ink blot test, a child is asked what the ten ink blots on white backgrounds 'look like' and why. Human figures help children express complicated feelings that may be hard to express. For instance, a sexually abused child will focus on genitalia in his or her drawings unlike a normal child. Cat The Children's Apperception Test is a projective test for measuring the personality traits and attitudes of children (aged 3-10), other than assessing psycho-sexual conflicts during a child's growing up. Flashing a series of pictures, the child is asked to describe the situations and weave stories around the people or animals in the pictures.