c o v e r Again, according to United Nations (2020), citing BNA Communica tions, sexual harassment includes many activities across three key cate gories of behavior: physical, verbal and nonverbal (see Fig. 1 on p.16). Now in my 20 years of corporate experience developing and implement ing corporate workplace policies – specifically zero tolerance policies that incorporate harassment and sexual harassment – the key behavior categories differed slightly in that the category of nonverbal was labeled “visual.” This title often appears in corporate workplace policies.
“PPG prohibits and will not tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind and is committed to the principle of equal opportunity for all employees, members, volunteers and contractors and commits to provide a business and work environment free of discrimination and harassment.”bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb
Legal Terminology Sexual harassment is a legal term, created for the purpose of ending ha rassment and discrimination against victims in the workplace. Its most basic definition can be sourced back to the EEOC (2020), as previously mentioned (see 1. What is Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault? on opposite page). The term and definition have been continually rede fined and updated through legislation and court decisions. In individual countries and, in fact, individual states, the legal defini tions can vary. In Florida, where I am based, statutes categorize sexual harassment as a form of discrimination and, as per the EEOC, also de fine it as “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature from any person di rected towards or in the presence of an employee or applicant when: • Submission to such conduct is either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment. • Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such in dividual; or • Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably inter fering with an individual’s work performance or creating an in timidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.” (State of Florida, n.d.). In Florida, then, there is a legal statute to prevent sexual harass ment in the workplace and at work sponsored events and to protect in dividuals from one of two situations: • Quid Pro Quo Harassment: An individual uses their personal or positional power and authority over another to seek sexual favors for job conditions such as hiring, firing, benefits, pay in creases or workplace benefits. • Creating a Hostile Work Environment: An individual harasses somebody else in the workplace and their behavior interferes with said individual’s work performance and/or creates an in timidating or offensive work environment (State of Florida, n.d.; HRGuide, 2015).
Pet Professionals It is well documented, and a typical standard corporate workplace pol icy, that it is the responsibility of the victim to report harassment to their relevant supervisor(s). In return, it is the responsibility of the or ganization to ensure employees and management are trained on work place policies and that any infractions of these policies are handled confidentiality, expeditiously and in line with organization and legal guidelines. Yet this still leaves an important and key question unan swered. Where does this leave the thousands of pet professionals who work for themselves and do not have the immediate protection of an employer and who may find themselves on the receiving end of harass ment? How do they report harassment with no human resources de partment or corporate infrastructure to lean on? In the first part of this article (see Harassment in the Workplace, BARKS from the Guild, May 2020, pp.22‐28), I presented a reporting procedure for sexual harassment. This was not a linear procedure but rather several suggested courses of action that could be taken by a vic tim if they had suffered harassment. These procedures rely heavily on professional associations and company leadership. They also include
other suggested actions. But at what point should individuals report un welcome and uninvited behavior towards them to law enforcement and when is harassment considered assault? According to the United States Marine Corps (n.d.), there are both similarities and differences between sexual harassment and sexual as sault. They are both illegal, are considered uninvited and unwanted sex ual advances, and are personal violations that can result in harm to the victim. Both harassment and assault can occur as a single episode, can be gender neutral and will likely involve somebody the victim knows. However, because, as stated earlier, sexual harassment is considered a legal term, created for the purpose of ending harassment and discrimi nation against individuals in the workplace, they do differ in regard to where the behavior occurs. Sexual assault can occur at any location and involves direct physical contact whereas sexual harassment is consid ered specifically to have happened if the behavior occurs on workplace premises. Sexual harassment also includes other behaviors, both non verbal and verbal, and is not restricted to physical contact. Across the literature (Marine Corps, n.d.; Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, 2020) sexual assault is defined to include the use of force, rape, attempted rape, forcible sodomy (oral or anal sex), fondling or unwanted sexual touching and other unwanted sexual contact that is aggravated, abusive, or wrongful. This also includes unwanted and inap propriate sexual contact or attempts to commit these acts. Importantly verbiage describing a victim who does not or cannot consent is in cluded. Note too that in some locations, such as Florida, sexual assault is labeled sexual battery. The legal definition of assault is “an assault is carried out by a threat of bodily harm coupled with an apparent, present ability to cause the harm.” (The Free Dictionary, 2020). Assault is considered both criminal and tortious so crimes may result in either criminal or civil liability. Georgia Legal Aid (2020) describes a tort as a “wrongful act that injures or interferes with another person or property” whereas “a crime is a wrongful act that a state or federal government has identified as a crime.” For the purpose of clarity, here are definitions on some of the im portant terms used to define sexual assault. • Force: This does not always apply to just actual physical pres sure but also covers emotional coercion, psychological force, or manipulation to coerce a victim (RAINN, 2020). • Rape: This generally refers to nonconsensual sexual inter course that is committed by physical force, threat of injury, or other duress (Find Law, 2020). Rape as defined by Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) is a form of sex ual assault, but not all sexual assault is rape. The term rape when used as a legal definition specifically includes sexual penetration without consent (RAINN, 2020). • Unwelcome Behavior: Unwelcome does not mean "involun tary.” A victim may consent or agree to certain conduct and actively participate in it even though it is offensive and objec tionable. Therefore, sexual conduct is unwelcome whenever the person subjected to it considers it unwelcome (United Na tions, 2020). Sexual assault is considered a criminal offense and can also be a
BARKS from the Guild/July 2020
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