This is a guest post I asked Peter Charles to write for GrowMap. Peter’s Digital Age Marketing Group provides marketing services for attorneys. Bullying and Sexual Harassment are both issues that every person must better understand. If you have a small business you may be liable if you don’t – so you WILL want to read this.
New York, NY ~ Have you ever been bullied? Has a co-worker or a boss sexually harassed you? Do you remember how these unwanted aggressions made you feel? Well, many boys, girls, men, and women go home every day after spending hours at school or work, bearing the emotional pain of this abuse.
Bullying and sexual harassment are different, but, in some respects, they are the same. Both involve intimidation and power – an attempt to redress a real or perceived inequality or imbalance of power at work and at school. Both behaviors are also driven by a person’s inability to recognize how detrimental their behavior can be.
Victims of sexual harassment become the targets of sexually driven comments and unwanted touching, while those who are bullied are subjected to insults, malicious rumors and physical aggression. The actions may differ, but the emotional effects they have on the victim are quite similar.
Individuals repeatedly subjected to sexual harassment at work often say the experience made them feel uncomfortable, demeaned, worthless, and objectified. Fear of being groped, grabbed or teased in a sexual manner will eventually result in drop in work performance, or inhibit a students ability to learn.
Bullying is damaging with long-lasting effects
on both the perpetrator’s and the victim’s lives.
Studies have shown that young people who bully in school, have a tendency to carry that behavior into adulthood. People who are bullied suffer from depression, anxiety and loneliness, but there are no laws forbidding this behavior.
Bullying can be done in such insidious ways that unless you are the victim, other people don’t even know its happening, Sandy Herschcovis of the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg said when speaking to Reuters about her study on the effects of workplace bullying.
Hershcovis along with Julian Barling of Ontarios Queens University examined 120 studies conducted over 21 years to evaluate the outcomes of cases where people were bullied or sexually harassed at work.
The researchers evaluated the work stress; physical, psychological and emotional well-being of those exposed to bullying and sexual harassment and found that overall, bullying had a stronger effect on the individual than sexual harassment.
So why did bullying have a worse outcome? The researchers in the Canadian study concluded that because there are no institutional policies or legislation in place to protect the victims, they have no legal way to address the problem.
Sexually harassing behavior is strictly forbidden in schools and the workplace.
The targets have the ability to retain a sexual harassment lawyer to seek damages on their behalf, giving them a sense of justice.
No legislation happens in a vacuum. Leaders are tasked with protecting the general welfare of their citizens. Education and training can dissuade some bullies and harassers, but there are others who can only be stopped for fear of the legal consequences.
Sexual Harassment:
- Role Power Plays in Sexual Harassment
- Unlawful Sexual Harassment: How to Recognize It; How to Stop It
- Stopping Sexual Harassment
- Best Ways to Stop Sexual Harassment
Bullying Resources:
- StopBullying.gov
- Cyber Bullying Statistics
- Bully Prevention: Take a Stand Against Bullying
- Social Media Intensifies Bullying; How We Can Prevent Cyber Bullying
- Bullying Continues Because Society CONDONES It – How We Can Stop It
- How to Handle Bullying Comments
- Inspiring Community Response to Negative Comments Revealed
Peter Charles provides Internet Marketing Services including SEO for law firms. You can connect with Digital Age Marketing Group (DAMG) on G+ and follow them @Sexual_Harass on Twitter.
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November 7, 2012 at 8:43 pm
Great article, Gail. Thanks for asking Peter Charles to write it. Unfortunately, though, it is not the case that sexual harassment is forbidden in all work places and schools. There are loopholes where laws are not in place to protect the children and even if an apple is an apple, it is re-defined as an orange in order to further harass the child and protect the bully, especially if the bully is an adult. I look forward to the day when issues like that can be addressed for the protection of the children and not those who harm the children.
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November 8, 2012 at 2:54 pm
Hi Deborah,
I would not hold my breath. The law is rarely about protecting the innocent or what is right or wrong. The people with money and power control the laws and now many of the judges. They tend to be bullies themselves – or worse – so they aren’t going to care about victims.
That is why bullying, sexual harassment, domestic violence and even rape are rampant and getting worse. Look at what happens to the victims and the whistleblowers and it becomes obvious that you only make things worse for yourself because most people are all too happy to blame the victim.
The difference between what people have been conditioned to believe happens and what really happens is larger than the Grand Canyon and getting wider all the time.
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Thanks for this enlightening and thought-provoking share, it’s true that we must definitely take a stand against bullying and sexual harassment. It’s very important to stay vigilant and aware of the laws that govern these violating acts.
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Bullying is very common with the teens these days and they think it is funny. Making fun of a classmate or forcing him or her to do an unacceptable task is very similar to a crime. Sexual harassment also is growing on a faster rate. Both the activities are harmful to a person’ s self esteem.
Peter, I strongly believe what you said. These teens grow to become the employees and CEOs tomorrow and there is no other trend for bullying and harrasment at the work place to take apart from increase unless strong laws morals are put in place right now.
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Sexual harassment is because of some sort of psychological problem that pops because of mental darkness.It must be cured by moral sessions
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Though sexual harrasment and bullying are legally punishable, there are people who would n0t stop sexually assaulting and bullying people. And there are people who would not take a legal action against it, over the world. This seems a bit disappointing and depressing. There should be a solution to this.
awareness on ourself is the solution. If we have a high morale, I’m sure both bullying and harassment will be gone by itself.
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What a great article.I am searching from the google last couple of days That about sexual harassment laws.But unfortunately i din’t find any great way.But now my journey comes to an end.I must say What a great article.And once again thanks for this helpful and informative article.
This is a much needed post Peter, with growing incidents of bullying and sexual harassment, all we can do is to be aware of all the rules and laws for our safety. The domain of these incidents seem to expand unhindered, initially there were fields like education which were considered to be safe from these type of harassment but slowly and gradually, all fields have been registered with cases of bullying or sexual harassment.
Unfortunately, until the lawsuit is over, the victim gets very stressed and people point the finger at her (rarely him)
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Hi,
I think every one should deserve a right to live life and they should not be treated with sexual harassment or any other thing.
This is not fair.
Thank you
A powerful post!!! Bullying and sexual harassment has always been a part of the society. To but an end to all this, a firm change in the ideology of the human beings is needed. Direct and firm laws can surely bring home some amelioration. Thanks for the post.
Victims of sexual harassment have a lot more protection from a legal perspective. They have a legal recourse when they get harassed and are able to protect themselves from harm more times than not. It’s different with bullying because bullied people don’t have that legal recourse and feel very isolated and alone, which leads to an even deeper state of depression and anxiety. Until we start providing bullied people with the same level of legal protection as victims of sexual harassment, this problem will only get worse.
Wonderful post, I think it need laws to stop this action.
Wonderful and informative post, i believe sexual harassment is main thing were the teens are getting worst now a days. However the laws are made to over this issues.
thanks
Bullying and Sexual Harassment, really it’s a social problem all over the world. So, it’s need to solve for every body, especially for women and business holders. I think, we need to do some thing just now. No more time for waste.
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October 30, 2012 at 2:07 pm
Hello Jase,
As long as we keep treating people like sex objects and saturate every form of media with over-sexualization there is little hope that will EVER happen. Most people do not even see the connection between the two.
awareness on ourself is the solution. If we have a high morale, I’m sure both bullying and harassment will be gone by itself.
Good post.. There are some devices like video cameras embedded in pens which can be used to capture evidence during attempts of an offensive nature. One should absolutely never ignore such incidents and make sure to report it to authorities.
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Very informative post. Nobody should feel they have no way out other than quitting when he or she is harassed at work. Don’t be afraid to speak up and set your own boundaries if your small business sans HR department has no specific behavioral guidelines.
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October 29, 2012 at 11:47 am
Glad more people these days are aware of the effects of bullying. I personally know people who’s lives have been destroyed by bullying. I’m hoping teachers and parents will help to stop this terrible problem.
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October 30, 2012 at 6:55 am
I agree. I think awareness is increasing for bullying nowadays. It’s something that is being discussed openly, and frowned upon. It’s a step in the right direction. We need to continue to shun these people who continue to bully and push people around.
Bullying is a terrible thing. How could someone get kicks out of bullying others and making them feel like less of a human being. It is sad to see stories of people’s lives being ruined due to bullying. I remember being made fun of in high school and how self conscious it made me feel. It is definitely not a good feeling.
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