[Photo credit: Denis Oliveira]
A friend of mine from graduate school recently shared this article with me that talks about sexual harassment in different types of workplaces, from teaching, to nursing, to retail, to the prison system.
The entire article is worth reading, but since I have (and my blog) an interest in criminal justice related topics, the section on the prison system warranted extra attention. I think what typically comes to mind when we think of sexual harassment in the prison system, we may jump to the idea that it is strictly male inmates harassing female workers, or even male inmates harassing male workers. However, as noted by the person who was interviewed for this article, she was harassed by female coworkers and supervisors. We must recognize that sexual harassment in any setting can be committed by a person of any gender, role, age, or background.
One big problem today is often that those who experience sexual harassment in the workplace may fear reporting or speaking out because of concerns that it will cost them their employment. Sadly, their own safety and comfort will take a backseat to wanting to continue to have a job and paycheck. Of course, this makes sense, as many people know the hardships that surface when trying to find a new job.
I will quote the section on the prison section here in this post but please check out the entire post at https://etekenergy.com/lets-talk-about-sex-ual-harassment-in-the-workplace/
"“I think I’ve always experienced sexual harassment at one point or another at most of my jobs. It could be something as minimal as uncomfortable comments about my appearance. Sometimes it escalated to petty gossip and rumors. As I’ve gotten older, I think my perception of what constitutes sexual harassment has changed. I used to think it would be the office macho men making inappropriate comments around the water cooler or some middle-aged creep asking overly personal questions. I think I was most surprised to learn that a lot of sexual harassment is perpetuated between women in the workplace. I have been subjected to downright hostile work environments because a supervisor ‘just doesn’t like women.’ A few years ago I earned the wrath of an upper-level administrator. She went out of her way to make my life miserable. She would rant about me to our colleagues, often speculating about the multiple sexual partners I had and talking about what a slut I was. It was the most hostile work environment I’ve ever experienced and was deeply traumatizing.”
Let us recognize the strength it took for all of these women to share their words and stories with the author of the original post. I thank them not only for being brave, but also for offering insights that may otherwise be unknown to us.
[Source: Let’s Talk About Sex…ual Harassment in the Workplace by Kristin DeBias, July 27, 2020]