Sexual harassment refers to unsolicited conduct of sexual nature, including physical advances involving touch, as well as verbal advances such as demeaning, offensive, or degrading sexual comments. Furthermore, sexual harassment can be accompanied by the implication that the individual being targeted by these advances may suffer retribution if they do not reciprocate, and instead reject the harassment. In the workplace, this means suffering in terms of employment, workload, promotion, or the nature of the tasks given. Therefore, online sexual harassment in the office may not directly involve physical advances but usually involves verbal assault and cyber-stalking. However, this type of harassment can lead up to physical harassment through implied threats and other means.
Legally, sexual harassment law – online or otherwise – falls under civil rights law, employment discrimination law, and can sometimes even involve personal injury lawsuits (Cantalupo, 2016; Hersch, 2015). Civil rights law prohibits online sexual harassment through Title VII, making it illegal for sexual harassment in the workplace. Employment discrimination law prohibits online sexual discrimination as it is viewed as a type of sex discrimination.
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Most workplaces, therefore, have gone ahead and created awareness over sexual harassment at the office. From a legal standpoint, employee cyberstalking can be prevented by sensitizing all office workers on the definition and consequences of cyberstalking as outlined by US federal law. A workplace policy should also be formulated that supports the national law on this issue. From a practical standpoint, instituting a policy of keeping employee information confidential, putting in place a confidential reporting system, and carrying out regular online safety training for all employees to ensure that they are not easy targets will go a long way in minimizing the risk of cyberstalking in the workplace (Prakash, 2019). The organization should also be strict in their punishment of all perpetrators.
References
Cantalupo, N. C. (2016). Address: The civil rights approach to campus sexual violence. Regent University Law Review 28 (105). Retrieved from https://lawpublications.barry.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1073&context=facultyscholarship
Hersch, J. (2015). Sexual harassment in the workplace. IZA world of Labor . Retrieved from https://wol.iza.org/articles/sexual-harassment-in-workplace/long
Prakash, R. (2019). Cyber Crime: A Critical Study. The Law Brigade (Publishing) Group . Retrieved from https://thelawbrigade.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Rohit-prakash.pdf
