Non-work situation in the workplace

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Are you young, beautiful, charming? Do you all smile affably? Do you want to smile and flirt back? Stop! There are places in the world where it is contraindicated to do this. For example, at work … Imagine that you come to the office in your usual mini-skirt and smile invitingly. What happens next? Men smile back at you, say compliments, invite you for a cup of coffee … But what to tell, you know everything yourself. However, it is worth considering the unfortunate development of events. For example, harassment …

Harrasment (sexual harassment) are actions that are performed without your prior consent:

• sexual claims in any form, implicit or explicit;
• requests for sexual favors;
• other oral or physical actions of a sexual nature.

Many victims of harassment are simply hesitant to file a harassment complaint. And, in fact, in vain, because according to opinion polls, every fourth woman in Russia (every third in Moscow and St. Petersburg) is subjected to harassment. These are the main types of sexual harassment:

- Insults. Expressing judgments and expressions that discriminate or offend the interlocutor on the basis of gender in any form. For example, "all women are fools" or "they have one thing on their minds", offensive graffiti on the walls, obscene jokes about sex.

- Invitations. Unwanted invitations to joint activities that might be perceived as sexual. Example: invitations to breakfast, dinner, lunch, phone calls, and other non-work related contacts.

- Promises. Suggestions for action related to sex, if they are complemented by the promise of any form of reward (explicitly or implicitly). For example, the chef invites you to Hawaii, promising, in case of consent, to greatly increase the salary.

- Compulsion. Coercion into any act of sex, under threat of punishment. For example, the boss asks to wear a shorter / longer skirt to work, hinting at dismissal in case of refusal.

- Touches. Any form of body touch. Examples: contact in an elevator, transport; stroking in the presence of others.

What if you are sexually harassed? In the USA, there are clear instructions for such girls (men, by the way, too). For example:

• write a letter to the aggressor demanding an end to sexual harassment, leaving a copy and postal receipt;
• report problems at work to friends and superiors (even in Russia there are cases when a conversation with the authorities solved this problem);
• record the time, place and witnesses of harassment;
• see a psychiatrist and keep a treatment bill.

You can apply almost all of the above points in our country. Many of them will help you "calm down" an overly loving boss or colleague. And the collected evidence can come in handy if you decide to start a trial.

In the United States, nearly $ 1 billion is paid annually in harassment suits. In Russia, such cases are already being considered, but so far none of them has ended positively for the party that filed the lawsuit.

However, the legal framework in our country for harassment exists, there are only no precedents. I decided to ask a question on this topic to a professional lawyer, and the first answer I heard was: "Quit your job, in our country you will not achieve anything." Unfortunately, the executive branch of Russia is very different from the legislative branch. Among the laws of our country is one that should protect employees from sexual assault.

133 article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Compulsion to engage in sexual activities.

Forcing a person to have sexual intercourse, sodomy, lesbianism or other sexual acts by means of blackmail, threat of destruction, damage or seizure of property, or with the use of material or other dependence of the victim (victim) - is punishable by a fine of up to one hundred and twenty thousand rubles or in the amount of wages payment or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to one year, or correctional labor for a term of up to two years, or imprisonment for a term of up to one year.

Including the comments to article 133 describes:

Clause 1. Coercion involves the provision of a certain mental impact on the victims.

Item 2 "c". The use of material or other dependence of the victim (victim). Material dependence will take place in cases where the victim (victim) is fully or partially dependent on the perpetrator. Another dependence may lie in the service relations between the boss and the subordinate, the teacher and the student, the investigator and the person under investigation, etc.

Clause 3. A crime is completed from the moment of compulsion, regardless of whether the perpetrator succeeded in achieving his goal. The purpose of coercion is to enter into sexual intercourse with the victim (victim), homosexual relationships or perform other sexual acts to satisfy sexual needs.

Clause 5. The crime is committed with direct intent. The guilty person realizes that he is putting pressure on the will of the victim (victim), and wants to satisfy the sexual need in addition to the desire of another person. Wherein! The so-called seduction, which consists in inducement to sexual intercourse or sexual acts by persuasion, deception (for example, a promise to marry, improve material conditions, invite on a trip abroad, promote in office) cannot be considered compulsion.

Thus, it turns out that, on the one hand, point 2 "c" and 3 are on your side, but point 5 may let all your attempts to call the full-blown boss to responsibility down the drain. It is precisely because of the imperfection of the Russian judicial system that many girls prefer to endure arbitrariness or resign from a promising job, rather than try to obtain compensation for moral damage.

However, in our judicial system, approximately 70% of judges are women

If you decide to file a lawsuit like this, your example will serve as a lesson for many men and support for many women. However, remember: if you brought yourself to the harassment and your opponent has evidence (for example, testimony), then he can file a response claim. So think carefully before putting on a miniskirt to work.

This is why many training firms are introducing "anti-harassment training". In particular, the system of such courses includes several rules that should be remembered by almost everyone.

Behave in a business-like manner. Do not forget that you are in the workplace, and not in the company of close friends. This advice is especially relevant during corporate parties and trainings.

Remember the dress code. A miniskirt is certainly attractive, especially when combined with beautiful legs, but it can be too provocative for most of the men around you. And fishnet stockings are often perceived by the male sex as a veiled proposal for closer contact.

By the way, clothes of bright red color excite men no less than erotic lingerie.

Try to impose the role of a defender on the aggressor. Most men are addicted to harassment precisely because they lack evidence of their own "masculine" significance. Often, in order to raise the importance of a man in his own eyes, it is enough to say good about him (behind the eyes, but so that he knows about it). For example, when communicating with employees in a smoking room, you can tell a "terrible story" loudly enough about a friend who was unlucky with her superiors - she constantly pesters and does not give a pass at all. And immediately mention that your boss is much better because he doesn't need cheap proof of his masculinity. In most cases, this move works 90%, if only because "our very best boss" simply does not want to be like some "sexually dissatisfied animal".