Not since the dismissal in the fall of 2014 of CBC Radio star Jian Ghomeshi for the sexual harassment of several employees has the issue become as explosive as it has in recent weeks. Of course, it all started with allegations of sexual harassment and assault by numerous women against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein. Now stories by women and men of sexual harassment are coming out the woodwork involving high profiled men in the political, business and entertainment arena. The notable use of social media has opened up the flood gates. Countless women and men have rallied around the Twitter hashtag #metoo to reveal their own experiences with sex abuse, including in the workplace, diminishing the associated stigma.
In Canada, the Ghomeshi scandal helped to spur greater provincial protections that are now in effect through several new laws and policies. The changes beefed up provisions against sex harassment and bullying and gave governments the power to order an employer to conduct an impartial investigation when a complaint is made. Companies have also been forced to review and revamp their own policies to comply and are more aggressive in rooting out the problem of sexual harassment in their workplaces.
To date, the same cannot be said for in the U.S., although the federal and state governments will most likely have to deal with the matter in a more transparent and direct manner. After all, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, up to 85 percent of American women say that they have been sexually harassed at work. However, only a fraction of those cases are reported, partially due to the professional and legal risks for women who come forward. Nevertheless, women’s advocates are now noting that there appears to be a major ‘cultural and societal shift’ in the works.
In Canada, a 2014 survey by the Angus Reid Institute found that 43 percent of Canadian women had been sexually harassed at work. Unfortunately, the same survey found that men were more likely than women to agree that potentially problematic workplace behaviours were acceptable. In addition, a third of men (34 per cent) believed that sexual harassment in the workplace is “overblown” and receives more attention than it should. It would appear that a real change in our attitudes about harassment still has a ways to go. Maybe, just maybe, the recent high profile revelations of sexual misconduct in the U.S. may be enough to potentially lead to some real attitudinal changes. The fact is that everyone is responsible here and must work to stop such an obvious abuse of power. It’s about time!
FROLITICKS 