We are still in the midst of a furore about sexual harassment. It shows no sign of slowing and it’s pretty clear that some men in positions of power and authority have been forcing themselves on both men and women.
The allegations made against the likes of Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey, though not proven, should be repugnant to all people in all parts of the world. Sexual predatory of the sort we have been hearing about is repulsive.
Previously, many of us would have known that some powerful men would have used their positions to attract others. We would have also suspected that some men would have crossed the line and made unwelcome passes or suggestions. Decent people would have thought that once rebuffed, these individuals would have backed off and left it there. A lot of us would have known that some men would, once rebuffed, have felt angry and held it against those that refused them.
What the vast majority of us would not have thought about is the sheer number of men in powerful positions, who had forced themselves on people as some kind of right or privilege – as if it was a perk of being a powerful figure. The allegations against Weinstein, Spacey and others were based on rape and sexual assault and all decent people were united in their mental or verbal condemnation of their conduct.
However, in recent weeks things have changed. Whilst the law seems to be clear cut, inappropriate behaviour in the workplace if we view the workplace also as a social setting, is somewhat different.
UK law states that sexual harassment is a form of unlawful discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. The law also defines sexual harassment as being such if the behaviour is either meant to or has the effect of:
- violating your dignity, or
- creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment
Things are not always as clear-cut. One example is Michael Fallon’s situation involving Julia Hartley-Brewer over a decade ago. It has been reported that Mr Fallon repeatedly touched Ms Hartley-Brewer’s knee and she not too subtly demanded he remove his hand.
Ms Hartley-Brewer has since expressed that she does not feel that she was harassed and that it is ridiculous that the Defence Secretary has had to resign. Subsequently, other stories have followed about Mr Fallon’s alleged behaviour.
It is in this type of situation that the lines between those involved and the general population seem to blur. Despite Ms Hartley-Brewer’s feeling on the matter, the absence of a person feeling that their dignity was violated, no formal complaint was made and following Fallon’s apology Ms Hartley-Brewer moved on; it would appear that there was no creation of an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.
Therefore it would seem that technically by the definition above, no sexual harassment took place – even though you personally may take the view that it did. Ms Hartley-Brewer has even gone on to defend Mr Fallon, and yet Fallon has been subjected to the same level of vilification as others whose behaviour far more squarely sits within the remit to be classified as sexual harassment.
Although Ms Hartley-Brewer and Fallon were not work colleagues, the circumstances as they were at the point that the incident between then took place is one which can easily translate to not only conventional workplace environments, but also social gatherings etc. involving work colleagues.
It is no wonder that many people now feel that they are not confident about what constitutes sexual harassment and what does not.
The discussions have since moved on to workplace flirting and relationships between colleagues, and as the discussions have evolved around the question of what is and what is not acceptable, many people have expressed that they don’t know where they stand.
What if they fancy someone at work? What if they seem to be getting positive messages back? Will they get into trouble?
And let’s be very clear, sexual harassment is not a male-led only form of abuse. Female-led sexual harassment is also an issue that must be highlighted, tackled and spoken up about – especially in the workplace where junior members of staff may fear the repercussions of standing up to their boss.
The discussion has once more evolved beyond sexual harassment and opened up to other forms of discrimination – as we have seen with the recent stories about what some celebrities have said and done when they were teenagers – the most recent being Jack Maynard, who was recently pulled from ITV’s I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here in order to respond to the media storm surrounding discriminative tweets he posted to his twitter account, some of which dated back six years.
For some victims of harassment or discrimination, it may be too late to prosecute the perpetrators of this behaviour, but the genie is out of the bottle. Modern day society will not let it go back.
Society won’t stop these offences completely and some offenders who have gone to extremes will end up in prison. What has happened is that a much overdue national debate is now happening and people are having to think about what is now acceptable in modern day society.
These types of workplace and social issues are difficult to manage. We have expertise in these matters. If you would like some guidance or training on any of these topics, please call the National Centre for Diversity on freephone 0800 288 4717.
