Category: Criminal Behavior

Informative Speech on Sexual Harassment Prevention

Sexual harassment is described as any form of unwanted sexual behavior, sexual acts, or sexual discrimination that affects all kinds of people, male or female and it is against the law when harassers violate humans whole being and their rights. Others think that males cause sexual harassment but what they don’t know is that females can also be the cause of the harassment. There are lots of happenings where a male is sexually harassing a female, a female sexually harassing a male, or people harassing other people of the same gender. Sexual harassment, as we have said is caused by all kinds of people and sexual harassment can affect people in lots of different ways. Sexual harassment is very evident in today’s world wherein it can occur in many different settings such as our homes, school, workplace, public places and etc.

There is no realistic start date for the practice of sexual harassment – it forlornly stretches back as far as recorded history. One of its early and dreary examples were the sexual assaults made by the owners on their African American slave. Sexual discrimination has only been made illegal since the 1964 Civil Rights Act. But even after this, the first case was only brought during the 1970s and the issue was only considered by the Supreme Court during the 1980s. Despite these laws, harassment was still visible to this day. It can happen anytime and anywhere you go, even inside the school premises, workplace, home, and even in the churches either of gender.

Sexual harassment comes in a myriad of examples ranging from abuse, maliciousness, and the uncontrollable desire of a person to violate and conduct sexual misconduct towards an individual. It is not just a simple catcall or a slightly inappropriate gesture rather, it is a huge problem that many people, especially women suffer around the world. For instance, the common victims as of today include children, adolescents, and adults. These can be felt, seen, and experienced both privately and publicly. In addition, the effects it may bring can cause severe trauma and stress for it chooses no perpetrator, rather it is present everywhere. Researchers state that sexual harassment causes emotional instability, for it brings about the violation pertaining to one’s sexuality, personality, and upbringing. According to an article written by Rachael Rettner, Senior Writer on livescience.com, there are six ways sexual harassment can damage a woman’s health. First is by causing Post-traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD; rape and other sexual assaults are major triggers of this problem which greatly diminishes a person’s way of thinking. Second is heightened blood pressure; experiencing sexual harassment is very stressful. This added stress can cause a victim’s blood pressure to rise, which could later cause various cardiovascular diseases, as stated by the results of a survey in a 2008 study. Third is depression; constant experiences of sexual harassment and developing depression. Depression can trigger the next ways which the fourth one is sleep problems; by experiencing frequent harassment and developing depression, the victim may also suffer sleeping problems. This can be very detrimental to a person’s health as we all know sleep is an essential part of our health. Fifth is physical pain; with all that stress, emotional pain, and instability someone has been keeping inside from the constant experiences, those manifest into physical pain such as neck pain, bone, and other muscle pain. And lastly, suicide; a lot of people, particularly women had attempted suicide for reasons involving sexual harassment. Sexual harassment can make victims think they are useless which inevitably results in suicidal attempts. Sadly, those who are perpetrated still experience worst cases up to this day, for people who first witnessed such, were violated by relatives, people who share the common blood, and the like.

These days or even way back before, being sexually harassed has made a major and biggest impact on people’s mindsets, sometimes just simply tapping someone else’s shoulder could be a trigger to someone because we do not know if they’ve been harassed before or not. It can be carried out by an individual or group of individuals. What more if it is sexual harassment? Where else could it lead us if the action of harassing someone still lives up today? How could we fight back for our own dignity if it is being taken down by someone else just because they don’t know what is right from wrong? Above all, based on case to case basis, women are much more likely to be victims of sexual harassment precisely because they don’t have that much courage and they lack the strength to do such things, but we can’t just point out which gender has more amount of population who harasses the other gender. Nevertheless, based on vox.com, they’ve gathered data that used a nationally representative sample of about 2,000 adults, 81 percent of women and 43 percent of men say they have experienced some form of sexual harassment or assault in their lives. People with disabilities were more likely to report experiencing harassment and assault than others, and gay and bisexual men were more likely to report these experiences than straight men. In addition, the existence of sexual harassment is commonly mistaken for what women wear. Catcalling, whistling, or any other type of verbal assault is already considered sexual harassment. These kinds of practices should not be tolerated and deserve to be taken action. It is because these so-called “little things” they do, could lead them to do much worse things like physical abuse and rape. Basically, the act of sexually harassing someone else still lives and exists up to this day just simply because the people who do this aren’t aware of the difference between what is right and wrong. These people need to be disciplined and educated so that they could realize that what they are doing is ruining the lives of a lot of people, especially those who have big dreams that they want to achieve someday. If only this kind of atrocity didn’t happen to them.

As sexual harassment have so many negative effects, it is most important for us to prepare so that we could prevent it from happening. As said by americananthro.org, what we can do in advance to prevent it is by making ourselves knowledgeable about the sexual harassment policy, the process for implementing this policy, and the individuals responsible for doing so at your institution. As part of your official responsibility, we are bound by law to know what constitutes sexual harassment at your institution; what classes of people are covered by your institution’s sexual harassment code; and if given patterns of behavior or classes of people are not covered by the sexual harassment code, what policy does pertain to them. We should also learn to recognize the patterns of sexual harassment we could encounter. A harasser is often adroit at protecting himself from public disclosure, going only so far and no farther, discouraging complaints from those he harasses by implicit or explicit threat or reward, and relying on the silent complicity of his colleagues, who all know about his behavior but accept it. And lastly, it is important to take preventive action against sexual harassment in our department.

Essay on Sexual Harassment in College

Nowadays, sexual harassment has become a serious issue in institutions such as schools, colleges, and universities. It affects the mental and physical health of the victim. Therefore, there will be many psychological effects on someone who has been sexually harassed. Victims may experience depression, social problems, anxiety, or panic attacks. In addition, it affects the victim’s dignity.

Sexual harassment can occur visually, verbally, and physically and can hurt a student’s academic development. This is also considered sexual violence which is against the human rights of the student. According to the article, ‘Sexual Harassment PreventiveProtective Practices a U.S. College and Universities’ (Hobson. C, 2002) estimated that over 75% of famous college students are affected by sexual harassment, a total of more than 5 million victims.

Sexual harassment is seen as a threat, especially to women, and can take the form of physical or verbal harassment. For example, the victim may receive comments about her body, sexual orientation, or offensive phone calls from the harasser. This is considered sexual harassment. Physical harassment, on the other hand, involves sexually suggestive gestures, inappropriate touching or grabbing violence, and sexual abuse. However, it affects the victim physically and mentally. Unwanted pregnancies, risky abortions, risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases are some of the consequences of sexual harassment.

When sexual harassment takes place in an educational setting it can manifest itself from students to teachers or teachers to students. In addition, harassment occurs between students. In some cases, some students use the advantage of being female to get better grades, pass a subject or skip class. On the other hand, teachers take advantage of their position of authority to commit these acts. According to the article ‘Thoughts About Sexual Assault on College Campuses’ (Nussbaum. M, 2021) Sexual harassment and sexual assault have long included abuses of power between faculty and students, but on the whole, these cases have been understood as workplace abuses of power, and are dealt with under clear public rules, in much the manner of other workplaces.

Harassment within a college environment is a reality that both students and professors can be victims of. In most cases, the victim does not usually denounce the harasser or comment on what they face for fear of speaking out. In College, harassment is often difficult to detect, which consists of isolating and underestimating the victim. Therefore, sexual harassment can take place in the institution or outside the College.

The impact of sexual harassment can vary depending on the severity and duration of the harassment. They may even develop trauma. Harassment of students results in decreased academic achievement and loss of interest in their studies. The attitude and behavior of the victim begin to change. The victim experiences emotional disorders, low self-esteem, and avoidance of physical contact. Over time the victim experiences emotional sequelae. According to the article “Harassment: Effects on People and Organizations” (Funk. C. 2016). Let us always remind ourselves that harassment can ruin an individual’s life forever. It can affect not only emotions but also the physical and mental well-being of a person. It can even lead to more major problems such as illness and even death.

Sexual harassment can be considered sexual discrimination and pregnancy discrimination. Sexual discrimination is present in the educational environment. Discrimination can be manifested through harassment. For example, a student or teacher says or does something that creates an intimidating environment in the classroom. However, they try to develop protocols to combat and identify sexual violence or sexual harassment. Survivors of sexual assault in the school setting are more likely to drop out of school, develop self-destructive behaviors and commit suicide.

Sexual violence has become a common and frequent problem within the educational system that does not distinguish race, gender, age, or position of the victim, thus weakening the right to health, physical and mental integrity, to protection against violence, among others. In addition, as if that were not enough, they are also victims of harassment, bullying, and intimidation resulting in the development of traumas or even emotional traces affected. According to the article “A Crisis of Campus Sexual Assault” (Huff. C, 2022). Overall, 13% of college and graduate students report nonconsensual sexual contact by physical force or an inability to consent, according to a 2019 Association of American Universities survey of nearly 182,000 students. The highest rates occurred among female undergraduates (25.9%) and college students who identified as gay, transgender, or nonbinary (22.8%).

In conclusion, to eradicate cases like these it is fair and necessary to change laws both within the government and in the educational system which guarantee the rights and protection of students, adolescents, and academic staff. Implementing appropriate protocols to prevent and eradicate sexual violence from the root, in addition to periodic monitoring of these institutions and ensuring the educational sector.

Thesis Statement for Paper on Sexual Harassment in Schools

Introduction

Increasingly in the past ten years, policy, public health, and criminal justice attention has been focused on sexual harassment in schools including physical abuse, psychological and emotional abuse, and sexual abuse involving controlling behavior and causing harm. Many adolescents experience sexual harassment behavior and the prevention of this behavior is important because adolescent victims have higher risks to get involved in suicidal thoughts and negative outcomes. This research paper reviews the different information found in several academic journals about sexual harassment, bullying, and teen dating violence at schools. The articles introduce different studies and results about sexual harassment patterns and their behaviors. The studies are mostly from seventh to tenth-grade students among different races and gender. The findings allowed me to identify different recommendations for community members such as administrators or teachers, students for schools and high schools, and parents.

Review of Literature

Patterns of Bullying and Sexual Harassment

The article examines the patterns of bullying and sexual harassment victimization and perpetration among public school students. It highlights the importance of considering both involvement in bullying and sexual harassment simultaneously, and the variety of internalizing, externalizing, and health-risk behaviors related to them. The study suggests that both co-occur and being either a victim or a perpetrator is associated with poor mental health outcomes such as self-harm and depression (Gower et al., 2017). Researchers have started to examine the links between these two forms of harassment, although they have separate theoretical literature.

Bullying perpetration increased in violence, theft, and drinking and bullying victimization relates to depression, anxiety, and suicidal thinking. There are different types of bullying such as physical, relational, and cyberbullying, and people who engage in both perpetration and victimization tend to have internalizing symptoms such as feeling sad, lonely, afraid, or nervous and externalizing behavior such as using physical aggression, disobeying rules, or cheating. Physical development, sexuality, and the beginning to explore romantic relationships have a correlation with sexual harassment. During adolescence, students would perpetrate sexual harassment by asserting male dominance and demanding those who do not stick to the “hetero norm” role (Gower et al., 2017).

The qualitative study suggests an 18-month developmental pathway between bullying, which appears in middle school and then decreases over high school years, and sexual harassment. However, sexual harassment perpetration emerges in middle school and it can lead to sexual violence later in high school. In addition, adolescents who have a close and good relationship with their family and school members are less likely to be involved in bullying or sexual harassment. According to Gower, McMorris & Borowski, having positive communication and good parental involvement and support has a protective factor against both bullying victimization and perpetration. Studies demonstrated that friendships could reduce the risk of involvement in these patterns. However, a poor relationship with a caregiver with low emotional and social support relates to distressing experiences of sexual harassment (Gower et al., 2017).

The article also shows how gender and grade relate to these patterns. For example, some results indicate that more than two-thirds of the students in the relational bullying victimization pattern were female. In contrast, over two-thirds of the students in the physical bullying perpetration pattern were male and those were more likely to be in 8th grade. Moreover, more than two-thirds of the students in the sexual harassment victimization and perpetration pattern were male students and were more likely to be in 9th or 11th grade.

Research shows that bullying supervision and policies continue to be not strict enough and still unclear. On the other hand, teachers reported that schools with specific definitions and understandable policies against sexual harassment felt empowered to intervene and get more effective results.

Middle School Sexual Harassment, Violence, and Social Networks

There is an increase in research on sexual harassment in schools including psychological and emotional abuse, physical abuse, and sexual abuse. This study is qualitative research, where the data is categorized based on individual covariates, social network characteristics, sexual and physical violence, and sexual harassment perpetration and victimization data. A nationally representative survey of students in 7th to 11th grade shows that 56%of girls and 40% of boys have experienced sexual harassment and almost the 90% of those it had a negative effect on them. The social network theory suggests that the structure and the characteristics of the peer network could predict behavioral patterns (Okamoto et al., 2013). For instance, individuals who have experienced violent and aggressive behaviors might be more likely to adopt these types of behaviors themselves. The research suggests that there is a level of social contagion in aggressive behavior around peers and it shows that students tend to be friends with peers that have a similar aggressive tendency. In addition, the study hypnotizes that larger networks and higher density could be a protective factor in relation to reporting sexual harassment or bullying victimization or perpetration cases. These types of networks facilitate the sharing of attitudes and behaviors. The social network study reveals that half of the adolescents in 7th and 8th grades report sexual harassment and physical violence victimization. One in five students reported that they sexually harassed peers and two out of five students announced perpetrated peer physical violence (Okamoto et al.,2013).

The longitudinal research finds that victimization predicts aggressive behaviors over time and that behavioral patterns usually continue existing in a certain behavioral manner such as sexual harassment or physical violence.

Dating Violence & Sexual Harassment

According to Eseplage and Holt, students involved in bullying or sexual harassment experience more anxiety and depression than students who have no relation to aggression. The research identifies that bully-victims are at the greatest risk for dating violence and peer sexual harassment victimization (Eseplage & Holt, 2007).

The cluster analysis shows four different bully-victim groups such as uninvolved, children who have no significant history as aggressors or victims; bullies, those who frequently bully others but never victims; bully-victims, children who bully others but also are victimized themselves; and victims, children who are victimized but do not report aggression against others. Research suggests that childhood aggression is one of the best-known social predictors of future maladjustment. Those involved in aggressive acts either as bullies or as victims have a higher risk of developing future serious social, emotional, and academic problems. Bully victims are the group with the greatest risk for social maladjustment. The study reported that bully victims tend to report more anxiety and depression than their peers do, and they are the group with the most rejection.

Surveys reveal that sexual harassment is extending among youth. For example, eight in ten students had experienced sexual harassment at some time during their school lives and more than half experienced it often (Eseplage & Holt, 2007). Research suggests that bullying victimization relates to sexual harassment, dating violence victimization, and bullying perpetration is associated with being aggressive with dating partners. In addition, they indicate that experiencing victimization may increase vulnerability for future victimization. Victimization also leads to social withdrawal and friendship rejection, and over time contributes to more victimization.

The study explores race/ethnicity and sex differences in victimization experiences and the impact on the relations among the bully-victim, victim, and bully groups. It identifies that boys are more likely to engage in physical bullying than girls. According to Eseplage and Holt, girls reported that others made sexual jokes, comments, gestures, or looks toward them in a sexual way. In addition, African-American girls were more likely than whites and Hispanics to be touched or grabbed in a sexual way. Hispanic youth reported bullying others more than white or black students, while Black students reported being bullied more than whites or Hispanics. However, black students were most likely to be classified as bullies and bully victims, while whites were more likely to be uncertain (Eseplage & Holt, 2007).

Teen Dating Violence, Sexual Harassment: Measurement Invariance by Gender

This quantitative study explores measurement invariance by gender among teen dating violence and sexual harassment from seventh-grade middle school students. Most of the research on violence and aggression in adolescent romantic relationships usually suggests similar rates of dating violence perpetration between girls and boys. In general, the findings support that boys initiate and perpetrate more intense dating violence than girls. For example, Holt and Espelage (2007) found higher perpetration prevalence rates for boys than for girls. However, other studies found no statistically significant differences in sexual harassment experiences between girls and boys. The purpose of the study is to test measurement invariance by gender in scales used to measure teen dating violence and sexual harassment. By using this measure, it could be claimed with greater confidence that any gender differences observed are due to actual differences in group means rather than weak measuring artifacts. Both the physical and psychological teen dating violence perpetration measures achieved strict measurement invariance. In addition, the study has some limitations such as the findings might not generalize to adolescents from other parts of the country since the sample is not nationally representative (Cutbush & Williams, 2016).

Effects of an Interactive School-Based Program for Preventing Adolescent Sexual Harassment

Lijster, Felten, Kok, and Kocken’s research, a cluster-randomized controlled study assesses the effectiveness of the Benzies & Batchies program, a program that picks out the prevention of sexual harassment behaviors through a peer-related play, peer-led group discussion, and a lesson for secondary school students given by qualified professional instructors. The qualitative study shows that in the short term, the students had less intention to commit sexual harassment behavior and positive effects on the adolescents’ future sexual behavior as well (Lijster et al., 2016).

Findings

Involvement in bullying and sexual harassment is usually researched separately but recently, there have been findings that show a connection between adolescent bullying and sexual harassment. Participants who reported that they could talk to their parents and that teachers cared about them, were less likely to be in patterns with a high risk of involvement in bullying. Students who reported that their parents or friends cared less were most likely to be associated with physical and/or relational bullying victimization and perpetration. The importance of youth connections with adults, such as parents or school members is a protective factor against bullying and sexual harassment patterns. Teachers who incorporated socio-emotional learning into their teaching philosophy are more likely to be aware and intervene in bullying and sexual harassment incidents.

Individuals who experienced violent and aggressive behavior are more likely to adopt these behaviors themselves in the future. Findings show that victimization predicts aggressive behavior over time and those behavioral patterns tend to remain in a behavioral manner such as sexual harassment or physical violence. In addition, networks exhibiting a greater density of relationships would be supportive of social norms predicting sexual harassment. Sexual harassment can occur as early as 6th grade and increase through middle school. Girls report more sexual harassment victimization than boys did.

Victims who had experienced high levels of sexual harassment, victims, and bully victims with the highest levels of dating violence reported the highest levels of anxiety and depression. In addition, students who have been involved in aggressive acts either as victims or as perpetrators are at risk for developing future serious emotional, social, behavioral, and academic problems.

Recommendations

Youths experience sexual harassment behavior as victims, perpetrators, or both. The prevention of this behavior is very important because adolescent victims have a high threat concerning health behaviors such as suicidal thinking, suicidal ideation, and feeling unsafe at school. An effective recommendation would be using the Benzie & Batchies program according to Lijster, Felten, Kok, and Kocken (2016). This program combines peer-performed play, a peer-led group discussion, and lessons for secondary school students given by experts. Also, the development of sexual harassment training and orientation programs for administrators, employees, and students would be an important proposition.

Another recommendation would be that teachers and parents incorporate socio-emotional learning into their teaching philosophy. In addition, using programs that include parent-training sessions could be also effective. Parents should be informed of the details so their emotional and developmental needs can be addressed. Family involvement and possibly using outside counseling might be needed to avoid long-term emotional damage and modify inappropriate behavior.

Establishing communication channels that guarantee that everybody in school would be able to report those sexual harassment behaviors would be necessary. The diffusion of the school’s protocol for sexual harassment and the existence of an evaluation committee that advises and offers information, support, and assistance in the resolution of problems and procedures of the different cases would be effective. Other recommendations would be the implementation of informative campaigns aimed at everybody, to show them the rights, legal remedies, internal procedures for making complaints, and sanctions established for these cases of sexual harassment. In addition, demonstrating the importance of educating students about sexual harassment at schools would be helpful. Students must be taught the difference between friendly teasing and bullying, flirting, and harassment. Behavior expectations and patterns must be clearly defined and explained, and consistent consequences need to be highlighted and reinforced.

References

1. Cutbush, S. & Williams, J. (2016). Teen Dating Violence, Sexual Harassment, and Bullying Among Middle School Youth: Examining Measurement Invariance by Gender. Journal of Research on Adolescence. 26(4), 918-926. doi: 10.1111/jora.12244
2. De Lijster, GP., Felten, H., Kok, G. & Kocken, PL. (2016). Effects of an Interactive School-Based Program for Preventing Adolescent Sexual Harassment: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Evaluation Study. Journal Youth Adolescence. 45(5), 874-86. doi: 10.1007/s10964-016-0471-9
3. Doty, J., Gower, A., Rudi, J., McMorris, B. & Borowsky, I. (2017). Patterns of Bullying and Sexual Harassment: Connections with Parents and Teachers as Direct Protective Factors. Journal Youth Adolescence, 46, 2289-2304. doi:10.1007/s10964-017-0698-0
4. Espelage, D. & Holt, M. (2007). Dating Violence & Sexual Harassment Across the Bully-Victim Continuum Among Middle and High School Students. Journal Youth Adolescence, 36, 799-811. doi:10.1007/s10964-006-9109-7
5. Higham, L. (2018). An Affective Politics of Sexual Harassment at School in the 21st Century: Schooling and Sexualities Twenty Years Later. Sex Education. 18(3), 293-306. doi: 10.1080/14681811.2018.1431879
6. Mumford, E., Okamoto, J., Taylor, B. & Stein, N. (2013). Middle, School Sexual Harassment, Violence, and Social Networks. American Journal of Health Behavior, 37(6), 769-779. doi: 10.5993/AJHB.37.6.6
7. Schnoll, J., Connolly, J., Josephson, J., Pepler. D. & Simkins, E. (2015). Same-and Cross-Gender Sexual Harassment Victimization in Middle School: A Developmental-Contextual Perspective. Journal of School Violence. 14, 196-216. doi: 10.1080/15388220.2014.906311

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: Persuasive Speech

Sexual harassment happening in the workplace has been a perpetual problem for many decades. However, in October of 2017, The Me-Too Movement finally drew public attention to this timeless issue. Various celebrities started speaking out about the sexual abuse they experienced while working in Hollywood. Providing evidence of how common sexual harassment in the workplace may truly be. Throughout, I will be analyzing the effect sexual harassment has in the workplace and the negative consequences that follow. As well as the effects on a victim’s physical/mental health and the stressors that are associated. However, I will also be discussing how sexual harassment may affect employers, taxpayers, and the companies themselves.

Sexual harassment does not have to be a physical assault. Sexual harassment is considered to be taking place when inappropriate comments are being made or being promised a promotion for sexual favors. Sexual harassment has continued for so long in the workplace because businesses do not know what to do about it. Harassers view this as an expectable behavior because society tends to focus on the actions of the victims instead of those of the perpetrator. Sexual harassment impacts society because it takes away integrity in the workplace. Sexual Harassment not only damages the victim; it can damage the work environment and a company’s reputation. An unacceptably small number of people realize the negative consequences victims may experience. Many victims who have gone through sexual harassment in the workplace face physical and mental health problems. Research has suggested that “sexual harassment is a stressor that can lead to work withdrawal, career instability, job dissatisfaction, and poor mental and physical health.” (Houle, Jason N, et al.)Research also suggests that “the frequency and severity of harassment are key predictors of mental health and well-being” (Houle, Jason N, et al.). One reason why these issues being faced are so severe is that “the longevity of these effects, as targets of harassment, continue to report depressive symptoms nearly a decade later” (Mclaughlin, Heather, et al.). This research shows evidence that the issues victims face are complex and long-lasting. Victims may sometimes wonder if something they did caused them to become a victim. Could they have acted differently or dressed differently? Some victims are struggling with physical and mental health problems, every day, sometimes for decades.

It has been discovered that the victims’ mental health can deteriorate due to negative stressors. Research does “consider sexual harassment to be a chronic stressor because it puts targeted workers under physical and mental stress in their day-to-day work activities. Stressful experiences are expected to be particularly deleterious to mental health when they are chronic, negative, and unpredictable, a threat to one’s identity, or signify a failure to achieve a desired goal” (Houle, Jason N, et al.). Since victims are suffering from these debilitating issues, as well as sexual harassment, it affects the victim’s ability to work or be around co-workers. A victim might start missing work, or may even take a lower position with lower pay to escape. In more severe cases, an employee may decide to leave the company altogether. A study determined “that anywhere from 3.8% to 33% of women who experience sex-based harassment say that they intend to leave their jobs, depending on their industry, position, and security without a job (Rizzo, Ted, et, al). If employers handled sexual harassment situations appropriately, the perpetrator would not hold the power. Victims would not have to leave their positions or be fearful of speaking out.

However, companies, where sexual harassment takes place, are also negatively affected. Companies that have sexual harassment take place have higher legal costs, as well as lower productivity. Between 1985 and 1987, sexual harassment cost the federal government $267 million, over $200 million was due to decreased productivity. More recently, in 2015, sexual harassment has cost companies up to $46 million (Mclaughlin, Heather, et al.). These costs begin stacking up the moment the perpetrator starts sexually harassing another employee. The perpetrator can cause damage to team performance, reliability, company reputation, and employee retention. If employers would make sexual harassment awareness a priority, good employees would not have to leave. If perpetrators were aware of the consequences, maybe they would think twice before harassing someone. It can be very damaging to a company’s reputation that has had issues with sexual harassment in the workplace. Other companies may avoid association with a company with a damaged reputation for fear that association might deter customers or even potential employees.

Taxpayers are affected, as well, when sexual harassment takes place at work, especially when it occurs at jobs provided by the state. An example of this would be when “nine female officers sued the Philadelphia Police Department over sexual harassment or discrimination” ( Marin, Max, et al.). This article also shared that the taxpayers of Philadelphia between 2007 and 2019 paid $2.3 million in funded pay-outs. Another article shared that, “an estimate based on a 1988 study of the costs of sexual harassment in the U.S. Army reported annual costs of $250 million. A U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board study from the early 1990s estimated the economic costs of sexual harassment to federal government workplaces over a two-year period at $327 million” (Holtzman, Tessa, et al.). Pulls people away from important governmental jobs and wastes taxpayer dollars.

Victims, companies, and taxpayers have been struggling with the negative consequences of sexual harassment in the workplace for decades. In actuality, only a small number of those who have experienced sexual harassment, about one in ten, ever formally file a report (Holtzman, Tessa, et al.). One reason it may go unreported is that abusers seem to target victims that may be inexperienced employees or employees that just do not stand up for themselves. It may be the fear of losing their job by a single parent that solely depends on their paycheck to take care of their children. Many victims think that nobody will believe them or that nothing will be done about it. Some will not report the abuse because they believe that other people will think they are overreacting, trying to stir up trouble or it could be the fear of damaging their careers. Many times harassment continues to go on; this may be because victims decide that speaking up or filing a complaint might not be worth it or that they may face retaliation. Few are punished for workplace sexual harassment and continue to work in the same career. It sends a message that the victims are not worth protecting. The severe issues with sexual harassment in the workplace are recently coming to light. More should be done to help prevent harassment and stop it immediately if it does occur. Appropriate action should also be made not only to help potential victims but to help existing victims as well. Companies should have a sexual harassment awareness program in place. It should start in the new hire process and it should continue periodically to remind employees that it is not acceptable in any form. It should communicate what is considered harassment as well as the consequences for violating the policy. Prevention is always the best tool.

Works Cited

1. Holtzman, Tessa, et al. “Sexual Harassment and Assault at Work: Understanding the Costs.” Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 1 June 2019, iwpr.org/publications/sexual-harassment-work-cost/.
2. Houle, Jason N, et al. “THE IMPACT OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT ON DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS DURING THE EARLY OCCUPATIONAL CAREER.” Society and Mental Health, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 July 2011, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3227029/.
3. Marin, Max, et al. “Philly’s Female Cops Sue Police Department over Civil Rights Abuses Every Other Month, Records Show.” Billy Penn, Billy Penn, 23 Aug. 2019, billypenn.com/2019/08/23/phillys-female-cops-sue-police-department-over-civil-rights-abuses-nearly-every-other-month-records-show/.
4. McLaughlin, Heather, et al. “[PDF] THE ECONOMIC AND CAREER EFFECTS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT ON WORKING WOMEN.: Semantic Scholar.” Gender and Society, 1 Jan. 1970, www.semanticscholar.org/paper/THE-ECONOMIC-AND-CAREER-EFFECTS-OF-SEXUAL-ON-WOMEN.-McLaughlin-Uggen/82bcf94504c118173ee524d57fc309db02fcdadd.
5. Rizzo, Ted, et al. “The Costs of Sex-Based Harassment to Businesses – ICRW: PASSION. PROOF. POWER.” ICRW, 2018, www.icrw.org/publications/the-costs-of-sex-based-harassment-to-businesses/.

Reflection Paper on Sexual Harassment

Workplace wellness is a concept or trend that is relatively new and concentrates on overall employee health and wellness. It includes the blending of health and safety programs to enhance overall worker well-being (physical, mental, emotional, social, and economic health) and prevent work-related injuries and illnesses. In recent times, many companies have had an increased focus on wellness as they have realized that a healthy ecosystem in the workplace leads to productivity, securing and keeping talent at the top level, and the overall success of a company that is beyond just workplace safety. The Ministry of Health and Wellness, Jamaica through the minister, Dr. Christopher Tufton has also changed its strategic focus and renewed its mandate which is “To ensure the provision of quality health services and to promote healthy lifestyles and environmental practices”. My organization The University of Technology, Jamaica, through the HR department and in collaboration with the staff union has developed a health and wellness program in which staff members pay a minimum monthly fee and both staff members and their families can participate in the weekly sports programs (swimming, tennis, etc) offered. Additionally, the union has a weekly exercise program (Slim possible) that facilitate all staff member.

The concept of workplace wellness emanated from Occupational Safety and Health (OSH). OSH emerged from capitalism (18th-19th Century/1st-2nd Industrial Revolution) with the evolution from agronomy to factories (cotton). OSH ‘s primary focus is to control hazards and the general environment and to ensure safe and healthful working conditions for workers by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education, and assistance. Prior to OSH, industries were created mainly for maximum production with little regard for employee well-being and safety. The coal/mining industry and cotton industry were two examples that were mentioned which exposed workers to injuries and even death in some instances. This created health hazards and environmental deficiencies which affected the communities in which people lived.

Subsequently, through the International Labour Organisation,(ILO) and Regulatory reforms introduced in many industrialized countries, the traditional, prescriptive approach to occupational safety and health (OSH) issues stimulated the development of OSH management. OSH management became popular in the 1970s and 1980s on the basis of experience. OSH regulations have changed from a prescriptive style to a more ‘self-regulatory’ and ‘goal-setting’ model (Frick and Wren, 2000; Bluff, 2003) and have established a general framework for systematic OSH management that is proactive, participative, and better integrated with companies. Presently many companies have taken OSH more seriously, although there is a cost hazard that drives up production as mentioned by Oniel Samuel. In addition, many organizations (primarily exporters) pursue ISO certifications that complement the Jamaica Occupational Safety and Health Act, JOSA, which was tabled and is expected to be passed in Parliament by December 2019. Also, the Bureau of Standards Jamaica and the National Regulatory and Compliance Authority (NCRA) are closely associated with organizations in which it monitors, promote, and encourages standardization in relation to commodities, processes, and practices. Bernard Campbell also suggested that most companies must be ISO-compliant in order to conduct business internationally.

During the discussion, it was emphasized that ILO data shows an estimated 2.3 million death-related accidents or diseases each year and that most occur in third-world countries where OSH standards have not been adopted. Rosemarie informed the class that JPS is one institution that operates with international standards and takes staff health and wellness seriously due to the nature of the business. She explained that staff members are given Personal Protective Equipment, PPE, which is part of the general employment framework that must be worn by staff. When there is non-compliance, staff members should be cited by the organization, and disciplinary action is taken. JPSCO was referenced for their Basic Behavior Safety Observation (BBSO) to hold team members accountable and an example where OSH is practiced at international standards Workplace accidents/injuries are largely underreported in Jamaica as many operations are informal. (eg Welding, Auto Repair, A/C installers, Block factory, Sand Mining). It was again reiterated that one primary reason safety does not conform to international standards and best practices is due to prohibitive costs. It was suggested that in organizations where risk is high a safety culture should be encouraged. Additionally, international states can influence OSH practices by means of common, legislation and regulation, code of practices, and policy documents.

Other areas discussed were ergonomics, sociotechnical systems, and sexual harassment in the organization. Ergonomics is defined as the science of fitting a workplace to the users’ needs with an aim to increase efficiency and productivity and is relevant in the design of such things as safe furniture and easy-to-use interfaces to machines (computer screens etc) and equipment to reduce discomfort. Ergonomics is a fundamental part of occupational health and safety and productivity in many organizations based on the three spears; physical, psychological(cognitive), and organizational. In my organization (Utech, Ja) there is an Environmental Health Officer employed by the HR department whose duties include, ensuring that matters that may affect employees’ health and wellness are dealt with by the organization. These include ergonomics, air quality, and work hazards. Jamaica National was another company cited as having special ergonomic chairs which provide lumbar support and restrict unsolicited movement for staff. These issues highlighted if not dealt with strategically will cost companies millions in health-related compensation.

Sociotechnical systems popularized by Emery at. el (1960) were the first to model the organization which looks at the social and technical aspects of an organization. The sociotechnical system focuses on the goodness of fit between people and technology and concentrates on procedures and related knowledge. Like ergonomics and health and wellness, the focus must be placed on sociotechnical systems in the sense of workplace balance in which workers feel safe and perform optimally. Many organizations such as FLOW and Sagicor have implemented flexible-schedule in which people can work from home or come to work at a particular time.

Adding to the discussion is the issues of sexual harassment in the organization and its impact on the workplace. Sexual Harassment is defined as the unwelcome sexual advances which the harassed individual finds offensive. Victims of sexual harassment can become traumatized by the experience so much so that they become physically sick resulting in increased sick leave and reduced productivity. Human Resource professionals are urged to establish a sexual harassment policy at the workplace and ensure that it is communicated to every member of staff. He/she should ensure that there is a grievance procedure in place and that the aggrieved person can register his/her complaints in a non-threatening environment. In Jamaica, The Sexual Harassment Bill was tabled in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (July 9) by Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange. The Bill outlines the types of conduct that constitute sexual harassment and prohibits certain related conduct.

In closing, I am happy that this topic was discussed and these areas were highlighted. As a staff, I recognized that if things in an organization do not affect us directly we do not pay attention to them, therefore, the human resource does not feel the need to implement them. Employee health and wellness should be every organization’s priority and include the blending of health and safety programs along a range of organizational, personal, and occupational ( sexual harassment, ergonomics, etc) activities to enhance overall worker well-being and prevent work-related injuries and illnesses.

Persuasive Speech: Sexual harassment Is Thriving on Silence

Sexual harassment is thriving on silence.

How often do you hear the word harassment and feel the pain attached to it? I believe everyone should be free from objectification due to their gender, religion, and race. Sexual harassment is one of the most common types of harassment found. Considering gender as a sexual object and making crude jokes, passing remarks, or behaving in any way that makes the other person uncomfortable is not acceptable.

We live in a world where our mass media has highly sexualized everything. From our TV shows to movies, our constant exposure to sexual content has dehumanized us. People have become insensitive and have forgotten how to behave and interact with the opposite gender. Our use of foul language and sexual references to express our frustration has become very common and is highly inappropriate. People learn from and adapt according to their surroundings. We dehumanize a person when their identity is reduced to being just an object of gratification and rejection. Sexual harassment has been happening for years and years but most of the time it’s been looked at with a negative point of view. Victims of sexual harassment have received backlash after speaking out which prompted silence everywhere. They are shunned by all and often told to keep quiet. Some people feared even whispering their stories because it would only result in disbelief and shame; the risk of speaking up is just too much. Harassment thrives on the silence of its victims and grants immunity to the perpetrators. Blaming the victim is what people do best and that’s what we’ll continue to do if we’re not made aware of our problems.

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About 2 years ago the entire world woke up to 2 words that sounded so small yet so explosive that social media was flooded by them, “Me too”. #MeToo became a movement in a matter of days solely because people had had enough. The world saw how a hash-tag revealed gruesome stories of assault, harassment, and rape. Stories which hadn’t even seen the light of day, until then. Over 2 million people found the courage to speak up about the horrendous crimes committed against them just because of this hashtag. This movement is about sexual harassment and sexual assault. It’s a common misconception that the metro is only about women, it’s not. Men get harassed too. Even though most stories come from women in this hashtag, it doesn’t mean that it’s just restricted to one gender. #MeToo is not gender bias. From young to old, from harassment in families to the workplace, it happens and we need to make people aware of this problem. People die; they commit suicide, are shamed for something that wasn’t even their fault, or are forced to remain silent. According to an online survey, 83% of women and 43% of men have experienced some form of sexual harassment in their life. These are just old figures, there are years and years old incidents buried inside the victims.

While men experience sexual harassment as well, the occurrence of this is much higher in women and so is the intensity of their experiences. Victims don’t often confront their harassers, they’d rather avoid them by changing how they look, their route, everyday routines, jobs, moving places, in short, their whole life, anything that would reduce the risk of getting harassed. Another alarming fact is that most victims don’t report their experiences. They don’t mention it to their friends or family, let alone the local authorities. They start suffering from anxiety and depression. They’d rather change their life than confront the person who harassed them. A friend of mine once got cat-called on her way to the library by a group of boys. She refused to speak of the incident for a very long period of time and appeared terrified at the idea of going down that particular street alone. With the help of “MeToo”, women are more motivated and determined than ever to speak up and empower themselves and others. It has not only helped victims name and shame their harassers but also brought awareness and overall gender discrimination to light.

Women are mostly asked for proof when they come out with their stories, but even with proof, there’s nothing that can be done. Khadija Siddiqui, a law student in Pakistan declined a marriage proposal from her classmate Shah Hussain, after he continuously harassed her and her parents, and attacked her one day in broad daylight outside her little sister’s school on the busiest streets of the country. She has 22 stab wounds on her body, multiple witnesses, and somehow that was still not enough to prove anything. The courts refused to file Meesha Shafi’s sexual harassment case against Ali Zafar because according to them the claim only stands in the law if the accuser is employed by the sexual predator, while simultaneously filing Ali Zafar’s defamation allegations. In a justice system much more developed than ours, Christine Blasey Ford came with testimony and proof regarding the sexual abuse Brett Kavanaugh committed against her, and not only did he escape scot-free, but he was made part of said system.

There has been a misuse of this movement but one cannot deny thousand of stories and question the credibility of this movement just because of some people who are speaking out of turn. When you wrongly accuse someone, you are not only ruining their life but of others as well who are victims and won’t be believed or heard because of you. When you delay accountability by misusing the platform this movement has given victims and survivors, you become responsible for the death of those voices that are ignored and crushed.

The justice system all over the world has shown time and time again that it is biased in favor of men all around the world, but especially in Pakistan where a woman couldn’t even file a report against her harasser. The laws need to strengthen so more people can feel safe, report the crimes committed against them, shed light on justice, and protect people from humility and violence. Human beings are more than their sexuality. You often hear people telling you to dress modestly in order to avoid being harassed on the streets. Why do our clothes get to decide our fate? Why do we need long protests and candle marches to get justice? It’s time we take the conversation to the next level of ideas and ideals. We need to make this world a better place by recognizing the equality of every single human being regardless of what” package” they come in. Maybe just maybe, the world will evolve and we’ll learn to respect each other rather than just think of instant gratification.

Thesis Statement on Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Sexual harassment is always happening whether we are made blatantly aware of it or it is happening underhandedly. Some of us may have experienced sexual harassment on our jobs. “Power is at the core of feminist theories of sexual harassment, although it has rarely been measured directly in terms of workplace authority. Popular characterizations portray male supervisors harassing female subordinates, but power-threat theories suggest that women in authority may be more frequent targets.” This article analyzes longitudinal survey data and qualitative interviews from the Youth Development Study to test this idea and to delineate why and how supervisory authority, gender nonconformity, and workplace sex ratios affect harassment. Relative to non-supervisors, female supervisors are more likely to report harassing behaviors and to define their experiences as sexual harassment. Sexual harassment can serve as an equalizer against women in power, motivated more by control and domination than by sexual desire. Interviews point to social isolation as a mechanism linking harassment to gender nonconformity and women’s authority, particularly in male-dominated work settings.

Statement of problem

Sexual harassment in the workplace is more prevalent than we think. Sexual harassment comes in many different forms as well. It does not necessarily have to be the act of sex. It can take place with inappropriate conversations, body language, eye contact, or even inappropriate jokes. It should not happen in the workplace but it does and not only does it make the victim uncomfortable, but is sometimes not handled properly. I have heard many narratives about people being sexually harassed at their jobs and them having to be the ones to leave the department. And the antagonist gets off with no punishment. Usually, these cases that I hear of are men sexually harassing women. Although the male-on-female narrative is one we always hear, it does not go unnoticed that men suffer from sexual harassment from women as well. Sexual harassment training and seminars are hardly not enough to stop this stigma. Some people feel as if they are too good to be caught up in being the villain in these cases.

Literature review

The article, “Sexual Harassment, Workplace Authority, and the Paradox of Power,” analyzes the data of women supervisors/subordinates reporting sexual harassment and why/how supervisory authority affects harassment. The article stated that “People employed in large establishments likely encounter a broader range of individuals at work, and potential harassers may be more inclined to act inappropriately due to the anonymity of large organizations.” (Mclaughlin) One of the main examples that stood out was Holly, the first woman in upper management at her manufacturing firm. Her subordinates would sometimes joke around and say, “If we had somebody with balls in this position, we’d be getting things done.” (Mclaughlin) She was also the sole female at a company dinner and a man would inappropriately grope her and touch her without any kind of consent. Apparently, women in power/authority give off a power struggle in a male dominant work environment. Male-dominated work environment shows that female supervisors are more likely to get sexually harassed than a female non-supervisor.

In this article, they also bring up an interesting point that if a woman obtains a leadership position in the workplace, because she may be the only woman in a leadership position, she is still under-looked, undervalued, and not respected as much. Moreover, women have a harder time moving up the success latter. Whereas, if a male obtains a leadership position, he is praised and glorified and his way up is nothing like the struggle of a woman moving up in her position would be (Mclaughlin).

In another article, men have stated that women are “too sensitive” and are oftentimes misinterpreting the man’s intentions. They call this certain harassment “girl watching”. This term, “girl watching” is the idea of how men visually verbally harass women. It could be comments to their subordinates such as “Hey, did you see that body?”, or other things that can be sexually suggestive. To my surprise, men reportedly found nothing wrong with their actions and “girl watching”. They feel as if women are being too sensitive and misinterpretating.

I also read an article that was based on sexual harassment of African American women because I am an African American woman. I felt this was a focal point for me and something I can relate to the most. In this study, women Black women were: touched inappropriately, asked to do sexual favors for male coworkers, and lastly called very discriminating things. Research on contra power harassment suggests that gender, race, and class positions imbue harassers with informal power, even when targets possess greater organizational authority than their harassers (Rospenda et al. 1998). Women holding authority positions thus offer an intriguing paradox for theory and research on sexual harassment, and scholars have advanced two distinct positions. The first, the vulnerable-victim hypothesis, suggests that more vulnerable workers—including women, racial minorities, and those with the most precarious positions and least workplace authority—are subject to greater harassment. The second, the power-threat model, suggests that women who threaten men’s dominance are more frequent targets. Although the matter is far from settled, research has found greater support for the paradoxical power-threat model, in which women in authority positions are most likely to face harassment (Chamberlain et al. 2008) and discrimination (Stainback, Ratliff, and Roscigno 2011). (Mclaughlin)

Throughout all the articles I have read, I have seen a lot of examples of sexual harassment. As stated before, sexual harassment comes in many different forms. Some forms of sexual harassment may not be as obvious as others. Sexual harassment is not always male on female. Things are harder for Black women in the workplace that experience sexual harassment. They are being hit from two different angles, one being race and the latter being that they are women.

Theory

The theory presented in this study is hegemonic masculinity, which argues that society privileges a single normative ideal of male behavior, and provides a broad sociological framework for understanding harassment, gender, and power. Men may be vulnerable to harassment if they are perceived as feminine (McLaughlin, H., Uggen, C., & Blackstone, A. (2012).) Another theory, that both these articles briefly mention is the Feminist theory, based on women’s oppression and the inequality that is often endured based on gender. In these two articles, gender inequality is unquestionable in institutions like the workplace. The social problem is that women remain the most frequent targets of classic sexual harassment markers, such as unwanted touching and invasion of personal space. Not to mention problems such as sexual harassment, sex discrimination, and workplace bullying will recede if and when women attain greater power at work. Thus, women who threaten men’s dominance are more frequent targets. The problem begins with hegemonic masculinity, where men who have power view themselves as being dominant and women as subordinate. As well as viewing women as lower, vulnerable, or not capable of doing a “man occupation”.

Hypotheses

1. Power, at work and in the broader society, pervades accounts of harassment in all of this literature (Berdahl 2007a; Rospenda, Richman, and Nawyn 1998; Welsh 1999).
2. Men may be vulnerable to harassment if they are perceived as feminine (DeSouza and Solberg 2004; Waldo, Berdahl, and Fitzgerald 1998), and women may be targeted if they challenge their subordinate position in the gender system. Sexual harassment may thus act as a tool to police appropriate ways of “doing gender” in the workplace and to penalize gender nonconformity (West and Zimmerman 1987).
3. Women continue to be underrepresented in positions of authority or relegated to the lower rungs of management (Elliott and Smith 2004; Gorman 2005; Kalev 2009; Reskin 2003; Reskin and McBrier 2000).

Methodology

This study utilizes six peer reviews scholarly journal articles to adjudicate three hypotheses. The following key terms we used are sexual Harassment and workplace. The following Databases were searched using the CSUN Oviatt Library website search, EBSCO (Host), and Sociological Abstract. The scholarly journals we used are American Sociological Review, Gender & Society, Sexual Harassment and Masculinity, Women & Therapy, Social Forces, and Sex Roles.

Discussion

The differences found in this study are, “In the“Sexual Harassment, Workplace…” We see that there are many consequences of sexual harassment such as existing policies and procedures. It is important to ask when did these policies come into play and are these policies actually taking effect? Another difference is the outcome is Patriarchal Terrorism. As mentioned previously in theory, there is an unquestionable existence of gender inequality, especially in the workplace. For example, Women working in a gas station and a male coworker makes a sexual comment to her and since she is the only female among other men, she decides to stay quiet.

Another strong point that is brought up is men are more likely to harass a woman if they feel a woman is more authoritative. Usually, this is seen when women take leadership roles in the workplace. Men use their sexuality to get things and feel as though it is a weakness for women. This is interesting because in most cases, men in leadership roles use their sexuality for the same thing. Males do not realize how dangerous and uncomfortable this can be. They feel women are being too sensitive when complaints are made about a male and their harassment.

I personally experienced sexual harassment at my job last year. I had been working there for some months and had built cool relationships with all of my coworkers. There were some men who did take a liking to me but were very respectful. Except for this one guy. He had moved up to the team lead position and was overusing his power to talk to me. Every day, he would ask to take me on a date and each time I said no, he would give me reasons on why I should not miss out on the opportunity. He would flirt with me, on and off the clock. Even in front of customers making it a very uncomfortable and unprofessional environment. After months of me refusing to give him a chance, his puppy love for me turned into raging hate. He would yell at me for doing the slightest thing wrong. He would send me home if he was frustrated with me. And I dealt with this for a long time because when I would bring it up to other coworkers or management, they thought it was funny and nothing to really be concerned about because he was not “touching me”. But as soon as I mustered up the courage to report him, he quit.

I cannot imagine how many women suffer from this. I figured if it can happen to me, It can happen to anyone. And it is so hard for women to report it because women are always looked at as the ones who brought the harassment on.

Conclusion

Although legal and organizational responses to sexual harassment have evolved rapidly in the past three decades, the cultural image of harassers and targets has not kept pace with changing workplace realities. Many still view the typical harassment scenario as one involving a sleazy male boss and a powerless female secretary. As this article shows, the reality is far more varied. Moving away from such stereotypes is a critical step for improving organizational policies and training procedures on sexual harassment. Effective training must go beyond male boss/female subordinate role-playing exercises and better reflect the diversity of harassment experiences. Effective grievance procedures must also enable targeted workers to come forward without undermining their own authority. For women who become bosses, their positions create a paradox of power in a gender system that continues to subordinate women. In taking on positions of authority, they also take on a greater risk of sexual harassment.

References

1. McLaughlin, H., Uggen, C., & Blackstone, A. (2012). Sexual Harassment, Workplace Authority, and the Paradox of Power. American Sociological Review, 77(4), 625–647. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122412451728
2. QUINN, B. A. (2002). Sexual Harassment and Masculinity: The Power and Meaning of “Girl Watching.” Gender & Society, 16(3), 386–402. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243202016003007
3. Nicole T. Buchanan Ph.D. & Alayne J. Ormerod Ph.D. (2002) Racialized Sexual Harassment in the Lives of African American Women, Women & Therapy, 25:3-4, 107-124, DOI: 10.1300/J015v25n03_08
4. Blackstone, Amy, Uggen, Christopher, McLaughlin, Heather. 2009. “Legal Consciousness and Responses to Sexual Harassment.” Law & Society Review 43:631–68.
5. Eisenberg, Susan. 2001. “Marking Gender Boundaries: Porn, Piss, and Power Tools.” Pp. 286–95 in Feminist Frontiers, edited by Richardson, L., Taylor, V., Whittier, N. New York: McGraw Hill.
6. Fitzgerald, Louise F., Shullman, Sandra L., Bailey, Nancy, Richards, Margaret, Swecker, Janice, Gold, Yael, Ormerod, Mimi, Weitzman, Lauren. 1988. “The Incidence and Dimensions of Sexual Harassment in Academia and the Workplace.” Journal of Vocational Behavior 32:152–75.

Sexual Harassment Vs Sexual Assault: Critical Essay

One in five women and one in 71 men will be raped during their lives. (National Sexual Violence Resource Center). Sexual harassment/assault becomes a problem when it is a common event that occurs daily. If you were to turn on the television to the news, you would more than likely hear about a case that must deal with sexual harassment/ assault. It happens too often that the world just brushes it off and acts as if it isn’t important. This doesn’t only happen in workplaces with coworkers, but also with school staff and students and sadly with infants and toddlers. Anyone can experience sexual harassment/assault, no matter their age, gender, race, etc. This is a topic that people will be affected by this forever and must face when it is brought up, and today’s world doesn’t do as much as it could for the victims. Sexual harassment/assault is a problem in the United States of America because of socialization, power games, lack of company policy, and victim blaming.

Many people face this throughout their life. Sexual harassment/ assault violates Title VII of the Civil Right Act of 1964 (U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). Many people assume that it is mainly women, which is true. 91% of victims are females (National Sexual Violence Resource Center). Sexual harassment/assault can be many different things. Those things include rape, forcible sodomy, marital rape, unwanted sexual touching, any sexual contact with a minor, whether given consent or not, incest, or any unwanted sexual contact (Women’s Center). Sexual harassment/assault started in the 19th and early 20th century in South America, where African American women who were slaves were being sexually harassed without legal protection (Dorau). During the early 1840s unequal economic and political relationships were said to be caused, by activists (Dorau). Today we have a movement, which is called the #MeToo movement to show how sexual harassment affects our society (Higginbottom).

One of the main cases of sexual harassment/assault would be socialization. Socialization starts during your childhood at which you learn the values, habits, and attitudes of society (Webster). But many are taught these things in different ways. The world has gone through different changes over the years. To where society thinks it’s “okay” to discriminate (Western Cape Government). Meaning no one hesitates to pick out people because of their sexuality, gender, ethnicity, disability, age, social class, etc. When it comes to sexual harassment/assault eight of ten victims knew the perpetrator (National Sexual Violence Resource Center). Showing that the victim has come in some type of contact with the suspect. 51% of females were raped by an intimate and 40.8% were by an acquaintance/partner. While males were 52.4% by an acquaintance and 15.1% by a stranger (National Sexual Violence Resource Center). Women are attacked more by people who they know or come in contact. During college 20%-25% of females and 15% of males were shown to be victims of sex that were forced. Many victims do not report it, and 90% of college students do not report being assaulted (National Sexual Violence Resource Center). Many believe that women are supposed to “please men” (Western Cape Government). Or that this happens because of what a woman wears, while men will do this no matter what the girl is wearing. Women should be able to wear whatever without a man thinking sexually.

The second main cause would be power games. When our first government system was created, men were the face of it. Not only government jobs but also farming, blacksmith, etc, Women were expected to stay home and tend to the house and children. Since 1950 the population of women in the workforce has increased (Tossii and Morsisi). With that being said, during the career advancement of women, men started to feel threatened (Western Cape Government). In the past, men had a higher amount of in the world and could get away with a lot more. As a result, women would be blamed for “flirting” (Dorau). People would believe that the men did nothing wrong and assume that the women were making it up. Whereas in today’s world, women are believed more than men. With men feeling threatened, they would harass women to prove themselves, they also referred to it as “fringe benefit.” Which meant they felt that their sex, power, and position entitled them (Western Cape Government). Allyson Zimmermann said that when you see females out-populating men in jobs, you see sexual harassment increase, but when the roles are separated equally, you see sexual harassment decrease (Higginbottom). This also happens when men as if they can get away with it because of who they are. For example, Donald Trump, when videos of him kissing females without their consent were seen. Trump considered it “locker room talk” (Yonack). This made women want to speak up and talk about them going through being sexually harassed or assaulted.

The final reason would be credibility and victim blaming. Credibility is how reliable something is (Webster). Credibility and victim blaming can be broken down into many different parts. Females will become embarrassed and not tell anyone until they’re in the situation and it becomes harsh and unbearable. Not only do they become embarrassed, but females also start blaming themselves for what happened (Western Cape Government). Victims may never know why they were targeted, but some do. Whenever someone goes through being a victim of sexual assault/harassment, they have to live with it for the rest of their lives and question why there was the victim. Although sexual harassment/assault can happen anywhere, the main place this occurs is in the workplace. As big of a problem as this is, many companies do not create policies to help deal with harassment (Western Cape Government). There are two basic types of sexual harassment in the workplace. This includes, “This for that,” which can be used to prevent someone from being fired from a job, and a hostile work environment, which is when supervisors perform unwanted conduct such as being hostile, offensive, or intimidating (United States Department of Labor). The companies could be doing a lot more to prevent sexual harassment/assault from happening. But since that is not the case, eight percent of the cases occur while the victim is at the workplace (National Sexual Violence Resource Center). So, women either feel that this is their fault or hide it until it becomes harshly unbearable.

Sexual harassment/assault can be resolved in many ways. One way could be having the victims join groups to talk about it with each other and punish the ones who perform it (U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). Companies should also step to the plate, and let their employees know that there is no tolerance for sexual harassment/assault, and they should list the consequences up front, and also supply support groups for those in need. Men feel as if they’re higher than women, some men just simply do not care how they come across, and others take mixed signals from females (What Causes Sexual Harassment). So, providing employees with the consequences upfront could prevent them from trying to sexually harass/assault another coworker. As far as when it comes to sexual harassment/assault outside of the workplace, the government and court systems could be punishing the suspects harsher and longer, to show the community that it is not okay to do you will be punished. The groups of victims coming together could make one another feel a lot better. As mentioned before, victims find it hard to open up and explain what happened but being in a group where everyone has experienced something very similar, it may be easier to know no one will be judged and everyone is there for one another. Creating a group of people who have been in those shoes and can relate to how each person is feeling. And being able to understand it is not easy opening up about this type of situation in life, especially to someone who wouldn’t understand.

In conclusion socialization, power games, credibility, and victim blaming are all reasons why America has the issue of sexual harassment/assault. Suspects feel that it is okay to perform this because the victims are scared to speak up. The suspects get away easily when found guilty when they should be punished much harder. When it comes to the workplace, companies could make policies that could potentially decrease the cases of sexual harassment/assault. Today the world acts as if it is completely “okay” to discriminate, men feel threatened by how much the females have increased in the workforce, and women do not open up until the sexual assault becomes harsh and unbearable. As each day goes by more and more people are affected by this. Once someone is affected by this, they may never want to be out again. If it were to happen at the workplace, those victims may never want to go back to work again. This could lose trust in the government and leaders, for not taking this seriously and punishing suspects harshly. Walking down the street, passing people, and the majority could very easily be affected by sexual harassment/assault.

Bibliography

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5. Information about the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA), www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/sexual_harassment.cfm.
6. “Marshall University.” Womens Center, www.marshall.edu/wcenter/sexual-assault/types-of-sexual-assault/.
7. Toossi, Mitra. “Women in the Workforce, before, during and after the Great Recession.” Spotlight on Statistics, 2017, www.bls.gov/spotlight/2017/women-in-the-workforce-before-during-and-after-the-great-recession/pdf/women-in-the-workforce-before-during-and-after-the-great-recession.pdf.
8. “What Causes Sexual Harassment?” The Women’s Code, 9 Feb. 2018, thewomenscode.com/causes-sexual-harassment/.
9. “What Do I Need to Know about… WORKPLACE HARASSMENT.” United States Department of Labor, www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/crc/2011-workplace-harassment.htm.
10. Yonack, Lyn. “Sexual Assault Is About Power.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psychoanalysis-unplugged/201711/sexual-assault-is-about-power.

Essay on the Relationship between Poverty and Crime

Some of the most asked questions in the criminal justice system are: what are the causes or factors that tend to formulate a criminal? What made him/her commit the crime? This question alone gives critical criminologists a job, amongst many other needed fields of interest. Criminology has various perspectives observed through a vast amount of theoretical and research approaches. The approach that is to be considered based on this topic would be the positivist school of criminology. “Many sociological theories are positivist and argue that the behavior of each individual is, to an extent, predetermined. This means that offenders are at least partially (often almost wholly) directed by forces outside the control of the individual. What sociological theorists generally suggest is that particular social or societal changes or factors may influence criminal behavior” (Case, p.367). The quote stated above perfectly explains the positivist school based on factors that can want creates a ‘criminal’ and a ‘non-criminal’ due to uncontrollable circumstances based on the life a being is dealt. The relation between economic status and deviant behavior is mostly associated with the sociological positivism approach. This tells that crime is not an accidental occurrence that is unpredicted, but rather a social pathology. According to Lemerts, social pathology is when “persons and groups are differentiated in various ways, some of which result in social penalties, rejection, and segregation. These penalties condition the form which the differentiation or deviation takes. Sociopathic differentiation and sociopathic individuation are theoretically considered and applications made to several groups of deviants: the blind, speech defectives, radicals, prostitutes, criminals, alcoholics, and psychotics” (Lemerts, 1951). Lemerts does explain how disassociating a group from the whole community causes rejection and a divide, but a group that was not listed by an obvious contender is those in poverty or low social economic class.

‘Poverty is a crime’, ‘the hungry man is a thief’, ‘crack cocaine vs cocaine’. These are just some of the many phrases that show some of the perspectives which make it possible for the United States to criminalize what is as simple as poverty. ‘The hungry man is a thief’ can be best understood by reviewing Becker’s theory of crime, which “demonstrates a direct correlation between poverty and crime. The model seeks to examine the dynamics of the poverty-crime system through stability analysis of a system of ODEs to identify cost-effective strategies to combat crime in metropolises” (Becker, p.225). Becker finds that criminal behavior and poverty hold a rather strong correlation, this is a crime theory, but also an economic theory. This explains that there is a higher likelihood of those in poverty more probable of committing a property crime than what is considered to be the general population. Another theory that can relate to this would be the criminal opportunity theory, which allows us to explain what is the foundation of who are potential victims and criminals when involving property crime. Social deprivation is the underlier in this case as stated by Lance Hannon, the absence of economic benefits which many consider to be a necessity in society, “economic deprivation has two countervailing effects on property crime: it causes strain and disorganization which may encourage some individuals to offend, but it also simultaneously lessens opportunities to engage in property crime by reducing the supply of worthwhile targets in an area. The present study examines the relationship between economic deprivation and rates of burglary and motor vehicle theft for census tracts in two large American cities (Austin and Seattle). Regression analyses support the opportunity saturation hypothesis derived from criminal opportunity theory. This hypothesis suggests that the relationship between levels of deprivation and property crime is curvilinear where the positive effect of deprivation on property crime is stronger at low levels of neighborhood poverty than it is at high levels. Research and policy implications are discussed” (Hannon, p.363).

‘Crack cocaine versus cocaine epidemic’ was an attack on what is believed to be the African American community but rather those in poverty. This is due to the significant amount of people considered to be in poverty are African American individuals who are in economic need. In 1986, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act was passed, this was months after a star University of Maryland athlete Len Bias overdosed on crack cocaine and passed away within hours after being drafted to be part of the Boston Celtics. This was the beginning of the spark of the war on cocaine. The Anti-Drug Abuse Act set a minimum mandate on illicit drugs, cocaine, for the first time. It was considered to be a 100:1 ratio between crack cocaine and powder cocaine, for example, if someone were arrested for 1 gram of cocaine would receive a minimum of a one-year sentence in a federal facility, while someone who had 100 grams of powder cocaine would receive the same time. With this large disparity in sentencing between these rather identical drugs. The targeting of low-income individuals because evident, as explained by Deborah J. Vagins. She states: “First, the current 100:1 drug quantity ratio promotes unwarranted disparities based on race. Because of its relatively low cost, crack cocaine is more accessible to poor Americans, many of whom are African Americans. Conversely, powder cocaine is much more expensive and tends to be used by more affluent white Americans. Nationwide statistics compiled by the Sentencing Commission reveal that African Americans are more likely to be convicted of crack cocaine offenses, while whites are more likely to be convicted of powder cocaine offenses. Thus, the sentencing disparities punishing crack cocaine offenses more harshly than powder cocaine offenses unjustly and disproportionately penalize African American defendants for drug trafficking comparable to that of white defendants” (Vagis, p.1). Another study that stands by Vagis’ findings is Joseph J. Palamar, Shelby Davies, Daniel C. Ompad, Charles M. Cleland, and Michael Weitzman’s study on both drugs and the potential risk of socioeconomic disparities. The findings of the study found: ‘Full-time employment was a risk factor for recent powder cocaine use, but this was a protective factor against crack use. This adds to previous research suggesting frequent crack users tend to be more marginalized from employment and are less likely to have jobs (Cross et al., 2001; Palamar and Ompad, 2014). Higher income was also negatively associated with crack use. This differs from income findings from our MTF study in that higher student income increased the odds of use of each form of the drug (Palamar and Ompad, 2014). Previous studies have found that access to disposable income is often associated with cigarette use and alcohol consumption (Martin et al., 2009; Scragg et al., 2002; Zhang et al., 2008). Even though powder and crack cocaine are the same prices in terms of dollars-per-pure-unit, powder cocaine is ‘more expensive’ as it tends to be sold in grams, whereas crack is more often sold in smaller unit sizes (Caulkins, 1997). With respect to adults, it is fitting that those with higher incomes would be more financially equipped to purchase powder cocaine at higher market prices. Indeed, powder cocaine has been viewed as more of an ‘elite’ drug, sometimes associated with ‘glamour’ and luxury (Ditton et al., 1991; Grinspoon and Bakalar, 1985; Kleiman et al., 2011)” (Palamar, 2016).

“One consequence of this robust relationship between poverty and crime is the numerous theories that have sprouted to explain this relationship. Although these theories all posit a positive relationship between poverty and crime at the micro level of neighborhoods, some of them imply a different functional form for this relationship” (Hipp, p.956). John R. Hipp has a written piece of work that questions the true relationship between what is seen to be the cause of crime, poverty. As stated in the quote above, there are multiple explanations and theories on the reasoning behind what is the characteristics of a community with continuing crime, and there is always one bedrock result that more poverty consists of more crime. Hipp explains that within these neighborhoods there is something that causes what is known as social dislocation. This begins due to the typical poor inner-city neighborhoods missing social organization, leaving the people within that community to be left with minimal opportunities and little to no available social institutions, giving them a lessen chance to be part of mainstream society. When an individual is distant from their society, it indicates that they are less invested in their community. ‘A Sense of Ownership in Community Development: Understanding the Potential for Participation in Community Planning Efforts’ by Robert J. Sampson tells of how a sense of ownership in a community causes positive aspects in the environment. Giving people a place in society gives them a need to keep it a better place and a sense of need. To prevent social disorganization, it is important for those to actually support community organizations, especially in low-income communities.

An analysis by Noah Atchison of a community organization that leads to an impact on crime rates concludes: “Research shows that in a city of 100,000, each new nonprofit community organization leads to a 1.2 percent drop in the homicide rate, a 1 percent reduction in the violent crime rate, and a 0.7 percent reduction in the property crime rate” (Atchison, 2018). Atchison brings to light that the continuous problem with crime is it is always rooted in poverty, leaving it difficult to reduce crime rates if poverty is a social construct that will not vanish due to America’s need for a hierarchy system. But supporting such community organizations can help greatly make a dent in the crime rates when financial wealth is not available. Another viable option brought up by Atchison is providing resources such as non-profits that can zone in on youth education, substance dependency, employment, and neighborhood development.

Substance abuse is tied to criminal activity as described previously with drug dependency programs can lessen the predictable high crime rates in low-income areas. According to the Addiction Center in the United States, it is not completely displayed what is the true explanation to why there is a cause for addiction in impoverished areas, but it is shown through studies there is a higher likelihood that individuals in lower economic brackets are addicted to substances. “Addiction does not discriminate based on socioeconomic status, but someone with a stable income is less likely to have an addiction than someone with no financial security. Years of data show that addiction rates are twice as high among the unemployed than those who have jobs, and in many cases, the stress of unemployment leads to substance abuse” (Correra, 2020). This quote perfectly explains the issue of financial difficulties resulting in substance issues, which can cause a cycle of addiction that is almost contagious to those surrounding them in the community. Dexter R. Voison concurs by explaining that “adolescents in poorer neighborhoods experience significant sanctions related to drug use and delinquency. Parental stress (i.e., substance use, mental distress, and incarceration) is associated with youth drug use and delinquency” (Voisin, p.139). To help there are programs to help with addiction such as rehab, but the cost is almost a deterrent to those in need. When taking this into consideration for the criminal justice system drug abuse is punishable by incarceration, rather than treatment. According to Atchison, there are statistics for decades that show substance abuse treatments are proven to reduce crime, but the actual access to these treatment resources in poor areas is extremely lower than those in high-income areas.

To aid individuals in poverty, one can provide them resources anywhere from welfare, housing and just support, as stated previously. But what happens when the government makes it impossible to receive such things? This is best explained and shown in Kaaryn Gustafson’s work ‘The Criminalization of Poverty Today’. Gustafson tells how people in financial aid were actually created into criminals based on their right of ‘economic citizenship’, the right to receive economic benefits from the government, being taken away. This began with the stigmatization and almost dehumanization on the basis of the need for welfare benefits for survival by society, making statements such as ‘poor people are lazy’, ‘the government encourages it’, or having an ‘anti-welfare attitude’. This began an uprising to criminalize and target welfare recipients, which actually created more criminals, not focusing on other criminals, reinforcing this stereotype, and keeping those in poverty by lessening potential opportunities. “The federal welfare legislation of 1996 included a provision that prohibits any individual who is wanted by law enforcement officials for a felony warrant or for violating the terms of parole or probation from receiving government benefits, including not only TANF benefits, but also food stamps, SSI, and housing assistance” (Gustafson, p.667). This was a threat to society, but most directly to those in financial need. This violated multiple rights but to many, it was the violation of privacy that so greatly impacted individuals. Operation Talon, which was backed at the time by Vice President Al Gore, gave law enforcement to be allowed to apprehend people by easily looking up food stamp records without the need for probable cause, substantial evidence, or any genuine form of judicial process. This resulted in thousands of low-income people being processed by this system, 10,980 citizens in the United States were arrested between 1997 and mid-2006. The problem with this found that on top of the many flaws of this operation the type of criminals: “31% were for offenses known as ‘Group B offenses’, such as writing bad checks, which are considered less serious. Many of the Group A arrests were for non-violent offenses: 11% were for fraud charges and 10% were for larceny/theft offenses, categories which may include welfare fraud; 23% were for drug-related crimes” (Gustafson, p.671). Meaning a vast majority of those who were refused aid based on this operation were non-violent criminals who were not an immediate danger to society as America viewed them. This brings to one’s attention that society does view the poor as big sources of crime and drains the community, but the United States policies do not do much to help disprove this commonly stated notion. These stereotypes that have developed minimize and contain the impoverished community as a whole. How can society stop these stereotypes? Do we as citizens of the United States play a role in the relationship between poverty and crime? Can we better educate ourselves, can we provide better education to enrich the minds of adolescents to actually avoid the initial possibility of deviant behavior?

Poverty within the United States rings in around 15%, which leaves around 1 in 6 citizens living below the poverty line and 1 in 5 children. This is one of the highest adolescent poverty throughout the whole world. According to the Child Fund International Organization, children raised in poverty face multiple disadvantages, but the most prominent are health and education. “Poverty reduces a child’s readiness for school because it leads to poor physical health and motor skills, diminishes a child’s ability to concentrate and remember information, and reduces attentiveness, curiosity and motivation” (‘The Effects of Poverty on Education in the United States’, 2013). This cycle of unreadiness gives the child a feeling of alienation from society, anger, and insecurity. Statistics have also shown low income tend to have lower test scores compared to their richer counterparts and a higher risk of dropping out of school. “For some children, the effects of poverty on education present unique challenges in breaking the cycle of generational poverty and reduce their chances of leading rewarding, productive lives” (‘The Effects of Poverty on Education in the United States’, 2013), which could end the possibility of following unfulfilled prophecy (a socially constructed psychological usually formed through stereotypes that predict or an expectation of one’s actions off the basis of societies beliefs ) of poverty and deviance. Rick Docksai’s ‘murderous economics’ delves into the matter of poverty-related crime being a social problem that can be solved through investment in education to create a brighter future. The most informative results on the relationship between education and crime are in a study by Lance Lochner and Enrico Moretti. Lochner and Moretti describe education for individuals not only as a private return but more importantly as a social return, meaning it benefits not only the student but society as a whole. Due to crime being a strain on society, that is described as a ‘social cost’ and even marginally minimizing crime can be economically important. It is found that with a rise of just 1 percent in the completion of high school within the United States between the ages of twenty to sixty years men could potentially save $1.4 billion annually in expenses from crime experienced by society. This is the perceived ‘social return’ that can be received from better education. Other reasons to show why education can help are best described in a passage found in ‘The Effect of Education on Crime: Evidence from Prison Inmates, Arrests, and Self-Reports’: “First, schooling increases the returns to legitimate work, raising the opportunity costs of illicit behavior. Additionally, punishment for the crime typically entails incarceration. By raising wage rates, schooling makes this ‘lost time’ more costly. Second, education may directly affect the financial or psychic rewards of the crime itself. Finally, schooling may alter preferences in indirect ways, which may affect decisions to engage in crime” (Lochner & Moretti, p.155-156), and with further education, elevate patience or risk problematic situations.

ASB Essay

This report outlines the current approaches to preventing and tackling anti-social behavior followed by our organization. This report will focus on the main types of ASB experienced within our borough, the impact this has on individuals and local communities, statutory and non-statutory remedies used to tackle ASB, and current partnerships with other agencies to ensure residents can lead peaceful lives free from harassment and aggravation.

Antisocial behavior is a complex issue with many variables faced by all housing providers.

In order to prevent ASB it is important people are aware of what constitutes ASB. Our organization defines antisocial behavior as problems that continue over a period of time for example:

Noise: Excessive noise, shouting, swearing, and banging

Intimidation harassment or violence: Actual or threatened violence, physical or verbal abuse. Illegal use of premises or other criminal behavior, e.g. drug dealing.

Environmental ASB: Vandalism, misuse of communal areas and public spaces, littering, fly-tipping, or joyriding.

The legal definition in England as stated in the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 defines ASB as:

• Conduct that has caused or is likely to cause harassment, alarm, or distress to any person.
• Conduct capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to a person in relation to that person’s occupation of residential premises
• Conduct that is capable of causing (housing-related) nuisance or annoyance to any person

The main types of ASB experienced in our local authority are graffiti, vandalism, and drug dealing (Louis, N, 2021).

Antisocial behavior has devastating impacts on the quality of life of affected individuals causing misery, anxiety, disruption to sleep, deterioration in physical and mental well-being, and leaving victims feeling unsafe in their own homes. In addition to affecting individuals local communities also suffer from physical deterioration, and reputation worsening which can impact property value making the area hard to let.

In England, the key legislation relating to ASB is the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime, and Policing Act 2014. The act introduced the following legal powers so landlords may take swift action to focus on tackling the most serious cases of ASB:

• Injunctions
• Closure Order
• Community protection notices
• Criminal behavior orders
• Dispersal powers
• Public space protection order
• Community Trigger
• Absolute ground for possession
• Community Remedy

A statutory remedy available for housing providers to tackle ASB is possession. Applying to the court for possession should always be a last resort but is an available option if there is a severe breach of tenancy. Hertsmere is a non-stock holding authority however Clarion is the main housing provider and tends to issue new tenants with a starter or introductory tenancy for a fixed period. This provides less security of tenure and if there are any breaches within the probationary period the landlord may apply for possession, which is mandatory, as long as the correct procedure has been followed.

Another statutory method is a closure order, this allows the police or local authority to close the premises where anti-social behavior has been committed. A closure order could be used for a property where drug dealing is taking place. Recently a closure order was obtained for a Clarion property within the borough following numerous reports from residents regarding anti-social behavior and potential drug-related activity which had reduced the quality of life for local residents (Reaidi, June 2021).

A good practice example is Helena Partnership which has demonstrated ASB is a priority by investing in training for all staff. All staff is clear on what to do if they witness or are informed of an incident of ASB due to the comprehensive training provided.

The following nonstatutory methods are being used by our organization to tackle ASB relating to temporary accommodation tenants:

• Informal warnings This is an informal home visit to the perpetrator to reiterate tenant obligations and acceptable conduct whilst accommodated in temporary accommodation.
• Verbal or written warnings This is a formal warning in writing to the perpetrator advising of breach of rules and consequences if the matter continues. All warnings are recorded in the event temporary accommodation is terminated for unacceptable conduct.

Other non-statutory approaches used by other housing providers that are not currently being used by our organization but could be considered are :

Acceptable behavior agreement specifies the types of behavior the perpetrator is agreeing not to continue, any breaches can be used for legal action if necessary. A good practice example is Salford City Council, Salix Homes, and Salford Youth Offending Service have found the issuing of Acceptable Behaviour agreements ensures the offender must acknowledge the harm and impact of their behavior, early intervention has indicated this is having a positive impact on perpetrators behavior and the breach rate has been very low.

Mediation both parties would need to agree to this to try and resolve any grievances. A good practice example is a group of Three Rivers Housing Association’s tenants has recently received accredited training to become mediators. When landlords work in partnership with communities reduced ASB can be achieved.

Our organization has a multi-agency approach to taking pride in the borough. The following organizations make up the community safety partnership to work together to reduce crime and offending in Hertsmere:

• Hertsmere Borough Council
• Clarion Housing
• Hertfordshire County Council
• Hertfordshire Fire and safety rescue
• Hertfordshire constabulary
• Hertfordshire police and crime commissioner
• National probation service
• Here’s the valley clinical commissioning group

An example of how these agencies prevent and tackle ASB is the Anti-Social Behaviour Action Group (ASBAG) meetings. Representatives from a wide range of partner agencies meet to discuss individuals who are persistently involved in ASB and areas that are identified as ASB hot spots. The agencies work together to address these issues and take appropriate action against individuals to improve their quality of life.

Overall our organization’s approach to ASB appears to be working well as 76% of residents agree that the police and local council are successfully dealing with anti-social behavior and crime issues in their local area. 99% of Hertsmere residents agree that they feel safe in their local area when outside in the daytime and 80% agree that they feel safe in their local area when outside after dark

An example of our organization’s approach to preventing ASB is the community safety partnership that runs a 1-day workshop called ‘Choices’. This day is aimed at young people who have been involved in or are likely to become involved in ASB. The event aims to raise awareness about the causes, consequences, and penalties of crime, and the effects of anti-social behaviour. In addition to this, the safer neighborhoods team is aware often residents witness criminal activity but are too scared to report it. To encourage members of the local community to report Anti-social behaviour such as drug dealing they will be promoting crime stoppers as a way that people can report these incidents anonymously.

An example of tackling is to ensure the borough is a safer place to live and work feedback can be left on the community voice platform ‘echo’. In response to recent comments, the safer neighborhoods teams have set up a dedicated team of PCs and PCSOs to tackle Anti-social behavior in problem areas. For the past few months, the safer neighborhoods team has been working in the Battlers Green Drive area of Radlett which is a problem area for ASB, positive results have been achieved by issuing Community Protection Notices and taking offenders to court as a result ASB has reduced in the area and fewer reports have been received.