Seemingly Invisible, yet Harmful
In today's world, sadly, it is seemingly hard to find people who are respectful. Decades ago, people acted much more professionally because they knew they would be punished if they misbehaved. Today, however, most people do not nearly get punished as much as they deserve to. Without the crucial punishment, many people think that they can get away with just about anything. This is when sexual harassment becomes a major issue. “Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination. It includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other physical or verbal conduct of a sexual nature or conduct directed at a person because of his or her gender...”(Tufts University). Unfortunately, sexual harassment is a serious problem in our country and the rest of the world. It is something that one hears about on a daily basis, and it really starts to become disturbing. Sad to say, sexual harassment happens in many different environments, many people do not do anything to prevent it, and the consequences need to become much more serious; therefore, the law needs to start cracking down more on these disgusting people.
This type of abuse occurs in many different environments, and people seem to get away with it no matter where it happens. From young teens, to elder grandparents, people of all ages are both giving and receiving this horrible behavior. Everyone knows that the most common type of harassment is directed towards a female, which almost completely takes out the idea of a male being harassed. Even though it is nearly not as common, it is still something that goes on unnoticeable. Sexual harassment really becomes a problem when it is occurring at a workplace. This makes things more complicated because one would probably hesitate to bring it up to the boss. Also, it is a major problem at schools. It is not taken seriously, by teachers or students, which becomes very bothersome and results in unfortunate consequences. Touching classmates in inappropriate places and saying nasty things to them are both huge concerns schools should have, and are unfortunately not nearly taken care of the way they should be. Work and school are both where the majority of this harassment takes place. Sadly, it would take a lot for one to believe that this type of ridiculous behavior will stop anytime soon.
While all this annoyance starts to become routine to some people, themselves and also their peers somehow just ignore it. “The good news is that women have stopped rolling their eyes at each other and started speaking out. The bad news is that we may each assume the other gender not only doesn't understand but can't understand. “They don't get it” becomes “They can't get it”(Goodman). The slightest comment may verbally harm the one it is directed to, but a nearby peer may see nothing wrong with the remark. This is not always the case though, usually comments are blatant and people just keep their mouths shut and try to stay out of the way. Whether it might cost someone their job, or just because some one is afraid to speak up, it is a shame. One should not hesitate to report this type of behavior, but it continues to go noticed yet unspoken of consistently. Workplaces should definitely have a much more strict policy. In school, the same thing occurs, only it can sometimes be much worse because there seems to be much more freedom at school. Getting fired is not the equivalent of going to the principles office, therefore people see the punishment less harsh and continue to carry on with the shameful actions. Even if one made it to the principles office, the office would most likely just ignore it and would take it as a joke. One might not think that they are sexually harassing someone in their mind, but the slightest thing could make someone feel uncomfortable.
Currently, punishment is very miniscule, and many managers, principles, and law officers need to start cracking down on this matter so that the punishment can finally make people stop. “On September 17, 1990, Lisa Olsen, a sports reporter for the Boston Herald, charged five football players of the just-defeated New England Patriots with sexual harassment for making sexually suggestive and offensive remarks to her when she entered their locker room to conduct a post-game interview. After vociferous lamentations in the media, the National Football League fined the team and its players $25,000 each”(Paul). There are so many serious cases out there of sexual harassment that completely ruin peoples lives, and this is the type of harassment that makes headlines and is dealt with poorly. In order to finally make all of this nonsense end, the culprits need to know what they are getting themselves into afterward. Right now, those filthy predators could easily get away with almost anything, which is why one hears about it so often. Once the punishment is enhanced and becomes something that no one would want to deal with, sexual harassment would slowly deplete. There are some very disturbing people out there, so we cannot completely diminish it.
This disruptive behavior going on in many different surroundings needs to be taken much more seriously by the higher authorities, and the victims and witnesses need to start speaking up about the subject in order to slow the activity down. It is sad that some victims are afraid to leave their own house because of the unnecessary consequences that they might face. Hopefully, one day all of this would lessen and it would just become one less thing that one would need to worry about. The concern needs to be taken more seriously for both men and women, and if everything is handled correctly, hopefully one will not be afraid to go to work or school on any given day. If sexual harassment would just be a problem in the past, and not in the future, everyone could have a much more positive outlook on life, and all the negative doings and thought could just be history.