Equal Opportunities Work - Theories about Practice

The core of the definition of sexual harassment lies in the actions being
unwelcome by the individual at whom they are aimed. It is not possible to state
exactly how the person affected should indicate that the behavior of the other
party is not desirable. It may be done verbally or in writing. In some cases,
however, it is clear even without anything being done by the person affected
that the behavior of the subjecting party is undesirable and entails sexual
harassment.
The definition of sexual harassment is based on a subjective criterion: it is
up to the person being subjected to the behavior to decide whether or not it is
desirable and what is offensive. This subjective criterion is based on the right
of every individual to integrity and self-determination.
Why do we legislate about sexual harassment at all? Sexual harassment
violates the right of the individual to personal integrity and self-determination.
This does not only affect the person being subjected to it, but impacts on the
entire workplace. Harassment leads to tension in the atmosphere, and to many
people feeling insecure. People are upset, sense that there is some kind of
abusive situation, and withdraw. At such a workplace, not only the person
being subjected to the behavior in question works less than optimally -- even
his or her workmates' capacities to perform at work are affected. In other
words: productivity and creativity diminish.
Men harass women, women harass men, men harass men and women harass
women. Studies, however, indicate that the most frequent type of sexual
harassment is when men harass women. For this reason it is asserted in the
preparatory work for a draft bill submitted to the Swedish parliament and
entitled Kvinnofrid ("Protection of Women") that it is important to consider
sexual harassment from the perspective of sex/gender and power relations.
Sexual harassment is an abuse of power on the part of the perpetrator, and it is
also one aspect of more systematic oppression of women. This is what
distinguishes it from bullying in general. Sexual harassment is a means of
keeping women subordinate. For this reason, too, sexual harassment is
considered an issue related to equal opportunities, which explains why the law
on sexual harassment is an amendment to the Equal Opportunities Act.
It is incumbent upon every employer to take measures to prevent and
counteract any employee's being subjected to sexual harassment. Moreover,
the employer may be held liable to pay damages if he does not institute an
investigation when someone is reported for sexual harassment. The employer
must clearly take the stand that sexual harassment will not be tolerated at the
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