Introduction to

Street and

Workplace

Harassment

Definition:

Street and workplace harassment is the belittling or

threatening behavior at any individual worker or a group

of workers.

Recently, matters of workplace harassment have gained

interest among practitioners and researchers as it is

becoming one of the most sensitive areas of effective

workplace management. In Asian countries, it attracted lots

of attention from researchers and governments since the

1980s, because a significant source of work stress is

associated with aggressive behaviors.

Under the Fair Employment Law harassment in the workplace may

be illegal under two circumstances. The first is when an employer,

supervisor or co-worker singles a person out for

harassment because of that person’s race, color, creed, ancestry,

national origin, age (40 and up), disability, sex, arrest or conviction

record, marital status, sexual orientation or military services. The

second situation is when the content of the harassment itself

relates directly to any of these protected characteristics (i.e. sexual

harassment, use of derogatory ethnic or religious terms, age or

disability related comments, etc.)

Offensive conduct may include, but is not limited

to, offensive jokes, slurs, epithets or name calling,

physical assaults or threats, intimidation, ridicule

or mockery, insults or put-downs, offensive objects

or pictures, and interference with work

performance. Harassment can occur in a variety of

circumstances

Workplace harassment may escalate to threats or acts of physical violence or a targeted worker may react violently to prolonged harassment in the workplace. It is important for employers to recognize these behaviors and to deal with them promptly because they could lead to workplace violence.

Reasons for Harassment

Gender

Civil status

Family status, for example, as a parent of a child

Sexual orientation

Age

Disability

Race

Religious belief

Membership of the Traveler community

Harassment based on any of the above grounds is

a form of discrimination in relation to conditions of

employment. The Employment Equality Acts 1998-

2011 define harassment as “unwanted conduct”

which is related to any of the 9 discriminatory

grounds above.

Harassment can be by a fellow worker,

your boss or someone in a superior

position, a client, a customer or any other

business contact. Harassment can take

place at work or on a training course, on a

work trip, at a work social event or any

other occasion connected with your job.

.

The “unwanted conduct” includes spoken words,

gestures or the production and display of written

words, pictures and other material. This includes

offensive gestures or facial expressions,

unwelcome and offensive calendars, screen-

savers, e-mails and any other offensive material.

Street and

Workplace

Harassment in

Pakistan

Street and Workplace

Harassment

Workplace harassment is the threatening behavior

directed at an individual worker or a group of workers.

Street harassment is a form of sexual

harassment that consists of unwanted comments and

threats on street.

Street and workplace

Harassment in Pakistan

Pakistan is a male dominated society with low literacy

rate

Female is considered as second class citizen

. In Pakistan harassment is related to sexual

harassment, verbal abuse, mental torture and threats

on streets and in working place.

Reasons for Street and workplace

Harassment in Pakistan

Harassment at workplace is commonly practiced by

the upper management

Gender Inequality is very common

failure to implement harassment policies

Reasons for Street and

workplace Harassment in

Pakistan Women are not aware of their legal rights related to

harassment

In private sector, there are more harassment cases

and mostly women don’t speak because of financial

crises

flaws In Pakistani law system

Role of government

Act that are passed by the national assembly of

Pakistan

According to the government the principles are built on

equal opportunity of men and women without

discrimination

Act complies with the Government’s commitment to

high international labor standards and empowerment

of women.

Role of NGO’s

Edhi foundation

Aurat Foundation is working on spreading awareness

regarding the legal right of women that state has

provided them

Online campaigns such as ‘No TO Harassment’ and

‘gawahi.com’

workplace

harassmentIT IS THE BELITTLING OR THREATENING BEHAVIOR DIRECTED AT AN INDIVIDUAL WORKER OR A GROUP OF WORKERS

types• PHYSICAL HARASSMENT

• EMOTIONAL HARASSMENT

Physical Harassment

It includes:

o Punching

o Pushing

o Slapping

o Kicking

o Poking

o Hair pulling

o Scratching

o Standing over someone

o Pulling away a chair as someone is about to sit down

Typical excuses include:

It was an accident.

We were only mucking around.

It was all in fun.

Emotional harassmentIt include:

Making rude gestures

Repeated teasing

Whispering about someone behind his/her back

Passing notes about someone

Imitating someone speech or behaviour in a way designed to offend

Laughing at someone mistakes

Excluding someone from group activities

Passing around nasty gossip with a view to making someone feel bad

Typical excuses include:

I didn’t say a thing.

It’s all in his/her imagination.

We didn’t lay a hand on her.

victims

The victims of workplace harassment can be separated into three

categories, based on gender, sexuality, and race.

While one group experiences workplace harassment more

frequently that others, workplace harassment still affects wide range

of population.

Gender

Both men and women are victims of workplace

harassment

Men experience less workplace harassment than

women,

Sexuality

Face discrimination from society

harassment from the public after disclosing one’s

sexuality

Race

culturally stigmatized groups face more workplace

harassments

Impacts

Alcoholism

rely on drinking to cope with the emotional distress

resulting from problematic social conditions

Women have more inclination towards drinking

The negative drinking effects are more severe for

women than they are for men

PTSD

Known as war wound-workplace become a war zone

for a victim

Occurs when respondents exceed recommended

threshold value

intensive or overwhelming threat to a person which

often results in the destruction of his or her sense of

security.

Other Psychological Effects

focused nature of the assault destabilizes and the

target's identity, ego strength, and ability to recover

from the assaults

Results in negative psychological effect e.g. Anxiety

(80%), Panic Attacks (52%), Depression (49%), PTSD

(30%), Shame - sense of deserving a bad fate, Guilt

,Overwhelming sense of Injustice.

Preventions

Working environments must counsel with labourers

Permitting specialists a sensible chance to express

their perspectives on wellbeing and security matters

Street

Harassment IT IS A FORM OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT THAT CONSISTS OF UNWANTED COMMENTS, WOLF-WHISTLES, AND OTHER ACTIONS BY STRANGERS IN PUBLIC AREAS.

Health effectsDEPRESSION

STRESS DISORDER

BLOOD PRESSURE

SUICIDE

SLEEP PROBLEMS

Depression Victims of street harassment can experience

long-term depression.

self-blame may have a negative effect on mental

health.

Stress disorder:

Those researchers found that experiences of

sexual harassment were significantly correlated

with SD symptoms in 450 women who were

interviewed.

Blood Pressure

Street harassment boosts blood pressure.

Sexual harassment may trigger the same type of

physiological reactions as stress, which is

thought to raise the risk of cardiovascular

disease.

Suicide:

The study found that 23 percent of students had

experienced at least one incident of unwanted

sexual touching, sexual threats or remarks, or

indecent exposure in the past six months and

they attempted suicide

Sleep Problems:

Street harassment has been linked to sleep

disturbances.

This may be because the stress and anxiety of

the event affects sleep habits.

Common effects on

victims Becoming publicly sexualized

Being objectified and humiliated by scrutiny and gossip

Defamation of character and reputation

Loss of trust in environments

Effects on relationships

Firing and refusal for a job opportunity

Having to relocate to another city

Psychological

effects feeling powerless or out of control

feeling angry or violent towards the perpetrator

feeling betrayed and/or violated

loss of confidence and self-esteem

withdrawal and isolation

post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

CriminalizationTHE PROCESS BY WHICH BEHAVIORS AND

INDIVIDUALS ARE TRANSFORMED INTO CRIME AND

CRIMINALS"

Criminalization

It is a commonly held myth that street harassment

happens in low income communities and communities

of color.

Further criminalizing street harassment can have a

negative impact on families and communities within

already marginalized and targeted groups.

Public opinions

Stop and ask the target of the abuse if they are all

right.

Tell them that their comments, noises or actions are

offensive and abusive.

Judge the situation and decide what action, if any, is

safest for both you and the victim.

Education plays an important role in changing societal

attitudes. Parents need to be involved at home in

educating their children about what abuse and

harassment are and why they are wrong.

PreventionsCRIME PREVENTION STRATEGIES INCLUDES FOUR

MAJOR PREVENTION STRATEGIES:

Firstly

Developmental prevention refers to interventions

designed to prevent the development of criminal

potential in individuals, especially those targeting risk

and protective factors discovered in studies of human

development.

Anti- violence education is applicable to people of all

ages but the content and format of any educational

programs should vary at different stages of human

development.

Secondly

Situational prevention refers to interventions designed

to prevent the occurrence of crimes by reducing

opportunities and increasing the risk and difficulty of

offending.

By taking security measures like improved lighting,

using cctv camera in public space and transport,

adopting city safety plan, providing training and tips to

women to avoid high-risk situation ,using self-defense

technique and fight back, instant protest.

Thirdly

Community prevention refers to interventions

designed to change the social conditions and

institutions (e.g., families, peers, social norms) that

influence offending in residential communities.

Adopting rape prevention program in locality or

community can be an example of such prevention that

already adopted by some cities.

Fourth

Criminal justice prevention refers to traditional

deterrent, in capacitative, and rehabilitative strategies

operated by law enforcement and criminal justice

system agencies.

it can done by enforcement of laws, speedy disposal

of cases and exemplary punishment by the judiciary,

providing attention and better treatment to victims and

witnesses.

SUGGESTED

SOLUTIONS

Street harassment

Harassers comments should not be ignored.

Simple and aggressive response should be used.

Use of imagination instead of acting violently.

Educating and creating awareness.

Women should be encouraged.

Awareness about women’s rights.

Workplace harassment

Harassment issues should be reported to the head of

the organizations.

Victims should be given benefits.

Quick action should be taken against harasser.

Workplace harassment policy should be developed.

That policy should be made public.

Current and new employee should be told about policy.

In training, workplace and other discrimination training

should also be given.

Updating of workplace harassment policy.

All employees should be informed about any change in policy.