Introduction

The position and status of women has been a very dynamic concept since ages. Women have been
made to face all kinds of violence, physical abuse, denial of right to live, subordination and neglect.
The most heinous and shameful of such acts is the act of violence against women. Violence against
women is a wide term that encompasses multifarious acts of violence, abuse and torture against
women. It does not simply refer to the physical violence which a woman has to bear, but also verbal
abuse, emotional torture, economic deprivation and social disregard. No women are born to be
treated in an inhuman manner and to be deprived of her right to life . Any sort of violence
committed ag woman is a direct attack on her human rights and is the most shameful violation of
human rights. Women of all ages, from all kinds of background and from all walks of life go through
some sort of violence in different phases of their lives. It may be in the form of domestic violence,
sexual abuse, physical and verbal abuse, rape, trafficking in women and young girls, forced
prostitution, dowry-related violence, dowry deaths, female foeticide or infanticide and other
inhuman practices. They are victimized and neglected in all fields of life and must face discrimination
in every sphere of human activity. Thus, women across the world face these practices in almost all
spheres of life; this may include education, employment, at home, at workplace, in marriage, or even
in childhood. Women are perceived to be disadvantaged due to their role in the society .
What is sexual harassment?
Sexual harassment is “where any form of unwanted verbal, nonverbal or physical conduct of
a sexual nature occurs, with the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of a person, in
particular when creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive
environment”.

Sexual harassment does not always have to be specifically about sexual behavior or directed
at a specific person. For example, negative comments about women as a group may be a form
of sexual harassment.

Although sexual harassment laws do not usually cover teasing or offhand comments, these
behaviors can also be upsetting and have a negative emotional effect.

This EU Directive states that harassment is both a form of discrimination and that it is illegal.

Verbal examples of sexual harassment may include: making sexual comments about a
person’s body, making sexual comments or innuendos, asking about sexual fantasies,
preferences or history, asking personal questions about someone’s social or sex life, making
sexual comments about a person’s clothing, anatomy, or looks, repeatedly trying to date a
person who is not interested, telling lies or spreading rumours about a person’s sex life or
sexual preferences.

Examples of non-verbal harassment include: looking a person up and down (‘elevator eyes’),
following or stalking someone, using sexually suggestive visuals, making sexual gestures
with the hands or through body movements, using facial expressions such as winking,
throwing kisses, or licking lips.

Instances of physical harassment include: giving someone a massage around the neck or
shoulders, touching another person’s clothing, hair, or body, hugging, kissing, patting,
touching or rubbing oneself sexually against another person.

The key concept in understanding harassment is that any overtures are unwelcome. A person
may welcome and accept a sexist remark or a comment about their body, but this is likely to
depend on the particular situation and circumstances. However, it is important to remember
that even if someone accepts – or welcomes – the behaviour, it may still be degrading and
humiliating. In addition, such acceptance may not be fully voluntary: it may be a result of
often invisible pressure from the outside world.
What does sexual harassment include?
Sexual harassment can include someone:

 touching, grabbing or making other physical contact with you without your consent
 making comments to you that have a sexual meaning
 asking you for sex or sexual favours
 leering and staring at you
 displaying rude and offensive material so that you or others can see it
 making sexual gestures or suggestive body movements towards you
 cracking sexual jokes and comments around or to you
 questioning you about your sex life
 insulting you with sexual comments
 behaviour on a phone call that makes you feel uncomfortable
 indecently exposing themselves to you
 sexually assaulting you.

Sexual abuse is any form of sexual violence, including rape, child molestation, incest, and
similar forms of non-consensual sexual contact. Most sexual abuse experts agree sexual
abuse is never only about sex. Instead, it is often an attempt to gain power over others.
Immediate crisis assistance after sexual assault can prove invaluable and even save lives. A
person can report sexual assault by calling local police. Survivors may also wish to get a
physical exam at a hospital.
Therapy can also be helpful for those who experienced sexual abuse in the past. Some
therapists specialize in addressing the trauma of sexual assault. Long-term assistance may be
beneficial to some survivors of sexual abuse.

MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES RESULTING FROM SEXUAL

HARASSMENT (VICTIMS)
After sexual harassment , survivors may feel their bodies are not really their own. Survivors
often report feelings such as shame, terror, and guilt. Many blame themselves for the assault.
Due to the trauma and negative emotions linked to sexual abuse, survivors may be at risk for
mental health conditions. Survivors of sexual abuse may develop:
Depression: The loss of bodily autonomy is often difficult to cope with. It can create feelings
of hopelessness or despair. It may also reduce one’s sense of self-worth. Depressive feelings
may be mild and fleeting, or they can be intense and long-lasting.
Anxiety: The loss of bodily autonomy can also cause severe anxiety. Survivors may fear the
attack could happen again. Some may experience panic attacks. Others may develop
agoraphobia and become afraid to leave their homes. In some cases, a survivor may develop a
chronic fear of the type of person who harmed them. Someone who was raped by a tall, fair-
haired man with blue eyes may instinctively dislike, mistrust, or fear all men who match that
description.
Posttraumatic stress (PTSD): Someone who survived sexual assault may experience intense
memories of the abuse. In some cases, flashbacks may be so disruptive they cause a survivor
to lose track of surroundings. A person may also develop a related condition called complex
posttraumatic stress (C-PTSD). C-PTSD yields a chronic fear of abandonment in addition to
symptoms of traditional PTSD. Some people with C-PTSD also experience personality
disruptions.
Personality disruptions: Sexual abuse can sometimes result in personality disruptions such as
borderline personality. The behavior linked with personality disruptions could actually be an
adaption to abuse. For instance, a characteristic of borderline personality is a fear of
abandonment. That fear might not be adaptive in adulthood. Yet avoiding abandonment might
have protected someone from sexual abuse as a child.
Attachment issues: Survivors may find it challenging to form healthy attachments with
others. This is especially true among children who have been abused. Adults who were
abused as children may have insecure attachment patterns. They could struggle with intimacy
or be too eager to form close attachments.
Addiction: Research suggests abuse survivors are 26 times more likely to use drugs. Drugs
and alcohol can help numb the pain of abuse. Yet substance abuse often leads to the
development of different concerns.
Sexual abuse does not only leave psychological scars. It can also have long-lasting health
consequences.
A person who is assaulted may sustain bruises and cuts. They could also have more severe
injuries such as knife wounds, broken bones, and damaged genitals. Others may develop
chronic pain without an obvious physical cause.
Some survivors experience sexual dysfunction and fertility issues. Others may develop
sexually transmitted infections. Contrary to myth, it is possible for a sexual assault to result in
pregnancy. In cases where a child becomes pregnant, giving birth may be physically
dangerous.

TYPES OF SEXUAL HARESSMENT AND ABUSE

Sexual haressment is common, particularly for women and girls. Ninety percent of all rapes
are committed against women. One in six women in America have experienced rape. One in
five girls and one in 20 boys experience childhood sexual abuse.
Sexual abuse and sexual assault are umbrella terms used to refer to multiple crimes. These
crimes include:
Rape: Forced sexual contact with someone who does not or cannot consent. Forcing sex upon
someone who does not want it, who is intoxicated, or who is not legally old enough to give
consent all count as rape. Date rape is sexual assualt that occurs between people with an
established relationship. A handful of states limit their definition of rape to forcible sexual
intercourse. Yet any form of forcible sexual contact can have long-lasting effects on a person.
Most states now recognize forced oral sex and similar forms of assault as rape.
Child molestation: Child molestation is any sexual contact with a child. Many children who
are molested are too young to know what is happening and may not fight back. Some abusers
use the child's cooperation in these cases as "evidence" that no one was harmed. Examples of
child molestation might include fondling or demanding sexual favors from a child.
Incest: Incest describes sexual contact between family members who are too closely related
to marry. While incestuous sexual activity may occur between consenting adults, this is not
common. Most reported incest occurs as child abuse. Over a third of American sexual assault
survivors under the age of 18 are abused by a family member, according to latest statistics.
However, incest is an underreported crime, so the actual number of incest survivors may be
higher.
Non-consensual sexual contact: This category includes any unwanted sexual touching, such
as groping or pinching. Attempted rape can also fall into this category.
Non-contact sexual abuse: Not all sexual abuse fits neatly into common legal or
psychological definitions. For instance, parents who have sex in front of their children or who
make sexually inappropriate comments to their children are engaging in sexual abuse. So-
called revenge pornography sites, which publish nude photos of people without their consent,
are another form of sexual abuse.
Some people may believe that sexual harassment, although inappropriate, is ultimately
harmless and does not have a long term impact on the victim. However, the reality is that
sexual harassment can be dangerous for mental health and even have physical effects as well.
Victims of sexual harassment may be suffering silently while the other person involved has
no idea of the damage that their behavior has caused.

It is important for companies and institutions to have very strict and effective policies
regarding sexual harassment because it can affect people long after the event has taken place.
Researchers have found that people who experience sexual harassment at work are more
likely to develop severe depression symptoms. People who experience sexual harassment by
clients or customers also have a higher risk of developing depression.

When a victim is harassed and does not know how to deal with the situation their body starts
to become overwhelmed. They may be unaware that their body has registered the experience
as a trauma and is unable to process the stress. Without help, victims can even start have
physical symptoms in the aftermath including muscle aches, headaches or even high blood
pressure.

ATTITUDE OF SOCIETY TOWARDS VICTIMS

It has also been observed that victims are often blamed for rape and such blame reactions
further intensify the feelings of self blame . Research indicates that high levels of perpetrator
blame are associated with low levels of victim blame . However, for the same scenarios,
certain other studies indicate high levels of victim and perpetrator blame found in their
research that victims were blamed less when the perpetrator was violently motivated than
when the perpetrator was sexually motivated. reviewed numerous studies and noted that
victims of acquaintance rape were blamed more than victims of stranger rapes. Also, research
bears evidence that women blame rape victims less than males. In certain studies, no gender
differences were observed regarding victim blame. However, in some studies more victim
blame was observed among females. victims of rape tend to blame themselves in two ways-
behavioural self-blame in which they blame their behaviour as a reason for victimization and
secondly, characterological self-blame in which they tend to blame their personality as a
reason for victimization. They argued that victims may also blame external factors for their
victimization.

Victim Blaming
One reason people blame a victim is to distance themselves from an unpleasant occurrence
and thereby confirm their own invulnerability to the risk. By labelling or accusing the victim,
others can see the victim as different from themselves. People reassure themselves by
thinking, "Because I am not like her, because I do not do that, this would never happen to
me." We need to help people understand that this is not a helpful reaction.

Why is it Dangerous?
Victim-blaming attitudes marginalize the victim/survivor and make it harder to come forward
and report the abuse. If the survivor knows that you or society blames her for the abuse, s/he
will not feel safe or comfortable coming forward and talking to you.

Victim-blaming attitudes also reinforce what the abuser has been saying all along; that it is
the victim’s fault this is happening. It is NOT the victim’s fault or responsibility to fix the
situation; it is the abuser’s choice. By engaging in victim-blaming attitudes, society allows
the abuser to perpetrate relationship abuse or sexual assault while avoiding accountability for
his/her actions.

What Does Victim-Blaming Look Like?

Example of Victim-Blaming Attitude: “She must have provoked him into being abusive.
They both need to change.”

Reality: This statement assumes that the victim is equally to blame for the abuse, when in
reality, abuse is a conscious choice made by the abuser. Abusers have a choice in how they
react to their partner’s actions. Options besides abuse include: walking away, talking in the
moment, respectfully explaining why an action is frustrating, breaking up, etc. Additionally,
abuse is not about individual actions that incite the abuser to hurt his partner, but rather about
the abuser’s feelings of entitlement to do whatever he wants to his partner.

When friends and family remain neutral about the abuse and say that both people need to
change, they are colluding with and supporting the abusive partner and making it less likely
that the survivor will seek support.

LAWS AGAINST SEXUAL HARASSMENT FOR VICTIMS

Sexual harassment is considered as a violation of a woman’s fundamental right to equality,

which right is guaranteed by Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution. Workplace sexual
harassment creates an insecure and hostile work environment, thereby discouraging women’s
participation in work and adversely affecting their social and economic growth. Sexual
harassment is not only viewed as a discrimination problem related to safety and health, but
also as a violation of fundamental rights and human rights. It is offensive at a very personal
level and in a way undermines the right to equal opportunity and equal treatment of women at
the workplace. Workplace bullying often goes on to take the form of sexual harassment.
Power dynamics play a major role in the advancement of actions that amount to sexual
harassment. The Supreme Court of India through its landmark judgment in Vishakha v. State
of Rajasthan has deemed sexual harassment to be a violation of human rights standards as it
threatens the dignity of the person facing such harassment. The results of a global survey
asking women journalists to recount the abuse experienced at work, show that nearly 65% of
the respondents said they had encountered "intimidation, threats, or abuse" in relation to their
work, according to the online survey by the International News Safety Institute (INSI) and
International Women's Media Foundation.

Indian Penal Code, 1860

Conduct that may be construed as sexual harassment, can also constitute an offence and can
be penalized under the IPC. Prior to the Criminal Amendment Act, 2013 it was brought
within the ambit of Section 354 which made any act outraging the modesty of a woman a
crime. After the said amendment, Section 354A has been inserted to make sexual harassment
a particular offence. The following sections address the offence of sexual harassment:
Section 294: Obscene acts in any public place, singing obscene songs to the annoyance of
others.Punishment for violation of this Section is Imprisonment for a term of up to 3 months
or fine, or both.

Section 354 (A): A man committing any physical contact, advances involving unwelcome
and explicit sexual overtures; or demanding or requesting sexual favours; or showing
pornography against the will of a woman; or making sexually coloured remarks, shall be
guilty of the offence of sexual harassment.It entails a punishment of rigorous imprisonment
for a term which may extend to three years.

Section 509: Uttering any word or making any gesture intended to insult the modesty of a
woman and intrudes her privacy.The offender is punished with simple imprisonment for a
term which may extend to three years, and also with fine.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the
United Nations General Assembly. Although this document was not originally binding
on member states, it has received such wide acceptance as an outline of
foundational human rights principles that it has been recognized as a binding
expression of customary law and an authoritative interpretation of the UN Charter
itself. Article 3 of the UDHR states, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and
security of person.” This right was reaffirmed in by the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights(1966), which protects the right to life (Article 6) and the
right to liberty and security of person (Article 9).These rights, as well as others in the
UDHR, ICCPR, and the International Covenant on Social, Economic, and Cultural
Rights (ICESCR), such as the right to equal protection under the law and the right to
the highest standard of physical and mental health, are implicated in violence
against women cases. Therefore, States that are parties to these instruments have
an implicit obligation to protect women from violence as part of their obligations.

What is the Me Too movement?

 The Me Too movement is an effort to effect social change, organized primarily
through social media, where it’s often expressed as #MeToo. Originally founded in
2006, it became prominent both online and in the mainstream in late 2017, when
several high-profile actresses opened up about their experiences with sexual
harassment in the film industry.
 Since then, the movement has provided a source of solidarity for women from all
backgrounds who have experienced sexual harassment, most often, though not
always, perpetrated by a male colleague.
 Me Too movement founder: Tarana Burke
 During the early years, Tarana Burke, an American social activist, began to use the
phrase “me too” on the social networking platform Myspace to highlight the
occurrence of sexual harassment, particularly as it targeted women of color.
 Burke argues that the Me Too movement works on empowerment through empathy
by showing the world just how common sexual harassment is and by telling survivors
that they aren’t alone — and are supported.
 Popularization of #MeToo in 2017
 In 2017, actress Alyssa Milano magnified Burke’s rallying cry, turning it into the
popular #MeToo, which continues to trend on social media platforms like Twitter and
Instagram.
 Milano’s actions came in response to a number of women in Hollywood opening up
about their own experiences, many involving sexual harassment at the hands of well-
known film producer Harvey Weinstein.
 Although Weinstein’s accusers helped to start the movement, and Milano’s use of
Burke’s phrase may have been a powerful catalyst. Today, the movement is still a
source of solidarity for victims of sexual harassment.
Conclusion

Despite decades of attention, legal action, and advocacy, this analysis of data, research, and
experience shows that sexual harassment remains a serious and pervasive problem across virtually
all industry sectors and workplaces. We found that no sector remains untouched by sexual
harassment, nor unaffected by its impacts: Sexual harassment damages the lives, health, financial
independence, and opportunities of countless victims, and costs businesses not only in legal fees, but
in lost productivity, morale, effectiveness, and talent.

Sexual harassment is about the interplay of power and gender present in every sector of the
economy at virtually every level. While the data clearly shows that across all sectors, women of lower
status are the most common targets of sexual harassment by perpetrators who are typically men of
higher status, sexual harassment is by no means limited to this dynamic. Men, particularly those who
don’t conform to traditional masculine norms, and others seen as outsiders, like LGBTQ and gender
nonconforming people, are often targets and women can be harassers. A sexually harassing culture
can become so normalized that no one recognizes it, or doesn’t object to it for fear of being labeled a
troublemaker and losing employment or status in the workplace. And harassment can come
sideways, from co-workers, or from third parties like clients, customers, or patients.