New America Releases Sexual Harassment Toolkit
By Ga Ram Lee
New America, a non-partisan research institute in Washington, D.C, released a comprehensive report on the prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace on September 26. The report was accompanied by a toolkit that aims to provide effective solutions to prevent and end sexual harassment on an individual level, as well as by implementing national policies.
In light of recent sexual assault allegations against D.C. District Court of Appeals Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump’s nominee to fill the vacant Supreme Court seat of former-Justice Anthony Kennedy, the public discussion about sexual harassment has become even sharper and more relevant. Kavanaugh “categorically and unequivocally” denied all allegations and said that he will not be threatened by “false accusations.” The allegations date back to Kavanaugh’s years in high school and college and have only now emerged and been deemed important enough to be thoroughly looked-into by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The unfortunate reality that incidents of sexual harassment often go unreported is reflected in New America’s report. One of the most important conclusions that was drawn in the report was the presence of systematic oppression on survivors of sexual violence, who are compelled to remain silent about the crimes committed against them.
New America uses the socio-psychological definition of sexual harassment, which is “behavior that derogates, demeans, or humiliates an individual based on that individual’s sex.” Sexual harassment is in no way due to a fleeting desire; rather, it is a determined by the imbalances of power at work places, according to the report.
Sexual harassment is driven by a narrative of norms about women, men, and workers that our society has chosen to believe, the report finds. In particular, the dichotomy of gender roles, strictly divided between men, who are expected to be breadwinners, and women, who are expected to be caretakers, perpetuates the gender-harassing power dynamic. The false idea that female-dominated, “pink-collar” work environments are potential refuge from sexual harassment is one example. The report says, “even in female-dominated sectors, supervisors are still predominantly male. This is known as vertical sex segregation, where men are more likely to hold high status, higher paying, and more senior, supervisory jobs, and women are more likely to occupy the jobs in the sector with lower wages, status, and power.” The statistics no way show that only women can be victims of sexual harassment, but they reveal that the social dynamics within workplaces have been systematized in favor of men, making more potential female victims vulnerable to abuse and forced silence.
Furthermore, most workplaces fail to implement an efficient reporting system for sexual harassment incidents, New America concludes. The reporting system is often set up to fail because victims are required to report sexual harassment claims through a rigid chain of command that often includes the perpetrators themselves or their allies. This forces victims to remain silent about their experiences. New America’s report explains that many workers, including independent contractors, entrepreneurs, gig workers, and domestic workers, are not covered by current civil right laws, providing them little or no resources to report sexual harassment claims. Some of these workers may be facing additional challenges due to their precarious immigration status. Even if there were a reporting system in place, victims or even bystanders refuse to report claims out of fear of job retaliation, New America reports. Victims in high-paying jobs do not want to taint their reputation or waste their efforts to build their careers. Victims in low-wage sectors need their jobs for survival. Both sets of targets, therefore, tolerate sexual harassment and continue to create a work culture where sexual harassment is normalized.
The facts laid-out in the report on sexual harassment in American workplaces reveal that the current framework for responding to claims is ineffective. New America reports, “We found that organizations typically have three primary responses to combat sexual harassment: ignoring complaints or harassment, firing a harasser, and/or offering sexual harassment training. These approaches aren’t working.” These traditional responses do not tackle the roots of what makes sexual harassment still acceptable in corporate America. The #MeToo movement, along with Kavanaugh’s nomination hearings, have led to one question: now what? As more victims of sexual harassment become more vocal about their experiences, it has become more integral to implement feasible prevention methods against perpetrators from dismissing their actions as a natural part of work culture?