Women Workers: Gender
Concerns vis -a -vis Occupational health.
A Workshop report
( Society for Participatory
Research in Asia & Asian South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education April
22-24, 1999 Katmandu, Nepal)
Sexual harassment at workplace
Sexual harassment at workplace has
now been recognised as a crucial issue for women. Though it has been prevalent
widely since decades, not much has been discussed about it. Gradually women
have started discussing it and fighting for their rights.
Through a brainstorming exercise,
following statements came out which according to the participants constitute
sexual harassment at work place:
-
Sexual Harassment includes:
Actions like patting the back,
pinching on the side of the waist, casting a different look & attitude
towards women on the basis of sexual differentiation, gesture, remarks,
actions of a sexual nature, display of pornographic materials in or around
the workplace, statements that pertain to a quid Pro quo situation - security,
promotion, etc. in and exchange for sexual favours
-
It is detrimental to women and society
in terms of:
Creates difficulty to work peacefully,
takes place quite frequently, very dangerous for one’s career, harmful
for one’s health, the burning issues for today’s working women, every woman
and trade union should fight for this, the worst that could happen especially
to women, emotionally disturbing, has psycho-social effects for the victim
as well as the whole family, it is the carry over effect of man’s power
over woman in the home, the result of man’s perception of all women as
sex-objects, the tool used by men to snatch away a woman’s sense of ‘professional’
dignity’, it is a form of suppression/discrimination, there is no law against
sexual harassment in most of the countries.
As per the guidelines given by Supreme
Court of India and women’s organisations, sexual harassment is:
-
Verbal abuse, including teasing, whistling
or insults,
-
Leering or staring at another’s body,
-
Making sexual remarks about another’s
clothing or body,
-
Jokes, remarks, questions or stories
of a sexual nature,
-
Displaying posters, calendars or other
visual material of a sexual or objectionable nature,
-
Touching, leering over, cornering, pinching,
patting or brushing against another, individual in a deliberately sexual
manner,
-
Any other unwelcome physical, verbal
or non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature,
-
Pressure for sexual activity,
-
Physical assault or rape,
After the brainstorming exercise, another
exercise was undertaken in which the participants were divided into three
groups and were given the following statements to discuss and present the
same in the wider group. The statements were as follows:
"Sexual harassment doesn’t take
place in our organisation...only those foreign multinational companies
with their western culture and free and easy manners, where women are allowed
to do and say what they want....is where all this happens".
`Women who are bold, outspoken
and aggressive.....those who live with a man outside of marriage...and
those who wear revealing `western clothes’.... are most likely to be harassed’.
"There should be dress codes in
an office....to promote our cultural way of living....to promote our rich
cultures and traditions and respect for women....to be decent and go with
society’s norms."
The discussions brought forward
the following observations from the participants:
-
There was a disagreement that it is
the dress or the way women dress-up that causes harassment. Even in countries
where women wear burkha and are fully clothed, these incidents take place,
-
Males feel challenged when women take
responsible roles,
-
Men think that women in general are
approachable and are seen as sex objects rather than as human beings,
-
Women in all ranks are sexually harassed,
the position in the office does not matter,
-
Men compare the new roles of woman with
the traditional role of a house wife where she could be controlled easily
by men. Seeing women in authority threatens their male ego and scares them.
Sexual harassment is one way of taking revenge and establishing the same
control over them.
-
Sexual harassment takes place in all
types of establishments whether they are multinationals or social organisations.
The problem is that they are not formally recorded/complained.
-
In most setups the harassment is `verbal’,
hence it is difficult to explain. Sexual jokes in organisations are taken
lightly by people.
In another exercise some posters were
displayed which had real
life experiences of women who have been sexually harassed. The display
of posters was followed by a consolidation of the various emotions revealed
through these expressions.
1. The lift man in my organisation
tried to molest me in the lift. When I reported to my supervisor, he said
why I am making such a fuss about it - ‘the lift man tried to molest
you but actually did not do it’.
2. I work as a clerk at a government
school. I was propositioned and stalked by a teacher. I filed a case against
him. The teachers, the administration, no one would talk to me. Even the
peons do not bring me tea.
3. I just felt sad all the time.
I was carrying out field research but did not care what I looked like when
I went out. When I think about it now, it’s all a blur.
4. I left my job 2 years later
I met Sunita who used to work with me at the factory. I told her about
the harassment. She was shocked. Why hadn’t I told her, she asked. I replied,
that I was ashamed and that I did not want my family to know about it.
The shame cut me from those I needed the most at that time.
5. I was in a new job. The men
would pass comments, which were very objectionable. I told my parents so
that I could get some support and suggestions from them. I was shocked
when my mother told me to take it as a compliment. My father was angry
but with me. He told me I was better off at home than in my workplace......
that I should leave my job.
6. I was so afraid to go for duty
in the department, it made me sick. I couldn’t wake up in the morning and
constantly felt tired. Then I would call in sick. It reflected so badly
on my record.
7. I am an NGO activist and when
I told my Director to form a committee in our organisation to create awareness
on sexual harassment, he said "we don’t need one; we are like a family".
8. I hated when I co-worker brushed
against me often. I resented it yet felt guilty. Was I in way to be blamed
for it?
The reactions generated from the group
for the above statements were as follows:
-
Women’s word is weak against that of
a man,
-
The punishment for harassing a woman
should not be limited only to the act but also extended to the intention.
-
The above statements show the attitude
of people towards sexual harassment. It is not considered as a serious
offense and is waived off lightly by men.
-
Women who have suffered from sexual
harassment go through various negative emotions like humiliation, self-blame,
fear, fear of sharing one’s feelings/experiences with others, feeling of
isolation, agitation, helplessness, paranoia, psycho-phobia, vulnerability,
shame, hatred, emotional disturbance, low self esteem, etc.
-
Women are punished for no fault of their
own.
-
The attitude and reactions of the family
and society are very different and may not necessarily be supportive towards
the victim.
-
Many times women are not able to identify
the problem and keep suffering due to it.
-
Even in social/development organisations
there is not much support from the organisation. They do not consider a
need to tackle this issue at their own level due to various reasons like
fear of gaining bad reputation from others, feeling of being pious, not
inward looking, etc.
-
Due to the social upbringing of women,
they start doubting themselves for any incident that has affected them.
They blame themselves for it and feel vulnerable.
Following the above discussions, there
was a mutual consent that sexual harassment is an occupational health problem.
Some of the points given below show how these incidents affect women both
physically and emotionally.
Sexual Harassment as an Occupational
Health Issue
Emotional
effects
-
Anger
-
Disgust
-
Fear
-
Shame
-
Guilt
-
Confusion
-
Powerlessness
Psychological
reactions:
-
Anxiety and nervousness
-
Depression
-
Feelings of low self esteem
Physical
effects:
-
Sleeplessness
-
Headaches
-
Nausea
-
High blood pressure
-
Ulcers
It is a demoralizing and unproductive
event for women. But even the employer is affected:
Consequences
for the employer
-
lower productivity and employee morale
-
increased costs for hiring and training
of new employees
-
high legal costs and fines
-
poor public image
How
women were affected by sexual harassment:
Source:
Headaches 78%
Poor Appetite 60%
Slept poorly 68%
Easily frightened 64%
Felt hands shake 30%
Felt tense, nervous or worried 70%
Poor digestion 52%
Trouble thinking clearly 57%
Cried more than usual 30%
Felt more unhappy than usual 60%
Could not enjoy daily activities
65%
Difficulty in making decisions at
work 53%
Suffered in daily work 51%
Felt unable to play a useful role
in life 45%
Lost interest in work, family life
48%
Felt worthless as a person 44%
Thought of suicide 16%
Felt tired all the time 62%
Had uncomfortable feelings in the
stomach 67%
Felt tired easily 82%
A national workshop was conducted by
the centre in June 1998 that brought forward several emerging trends and
issues concerning women workers. These issues now need to be highlighted
and shared among other actors at the regional level. COEH is also the lead
agency of Asian South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education (ASPBAE)
programme on Worker’s Education on Occupational Health and Safety. As the
lead agency, it would like to promote this issue at the South Asian level
and identify partners who incollaboration with PRIA and ASPBAE can further
this issue at the local level. The recent workshop was one such attempt
to discuss this issue at a South Asian level with other like minded partners.
http://www.pria.org/cgi-bin/studyreport.htm?r_reportid=14