Teens Facing Sexual Harrassment in the Workplace
January 27, 2010
by Optixmom
|Recently ABC News reported on teens who were subjected to sexual harassment at the workplace. The majority of the offenses toward the young women happened at their first jobs working for the fast food industry. PBS also covered the same topic back in February 2009. PBS reported that an estimated 200,000 teenagers are assaulted at their place of employment every year and that the abuse goes largely unreported.
The video below gives one a glimpse into one of the many forms of harassment and how it can escalate.
Teens need to understand that harassment doesn’t have to be tolerated at their workplace, or even at their schools, clubs, youthgroups, or other activities. They have rights to say “no” to unwanted touching and requests for sex from their co-workers or their superiors. Teens need to be informed of behaviors that are meant to demean and humiliate them in order to get them to become subserviant. They need to know that they have someone they can go to in order to get the behavior to stop as soon as they witness it occuring to either themselves or another co-worker.
An article in at the Examiner.com discusses some of the signs that teens can recognize. The Teen Victim Project also has more information regarding how to recognize the behaviors associated with sexual harassment. It is also important that parents discuss this topic with their teens before they enter the workplace. If your child knows they can depend on you to support them if this difficult situation arises at their job you will be able to help them stop it in its tracks.
Thanks for posting this report. Fighting harassment and a second class status is an education process that needs to begin in middle school, because many of the harassers (male and female) get their start in middle and high school. A patriarchal society doesn’t wait until a woman reaches her teens to teach her about her subservient status. That education begins before puberty. The counter-education needs to begin then as well.
I would love to know why the company decided to keep him on, considering he violated the company’s sexual harassment policy. She has to leave her job, while they let him keep his and she didn’t do anything wrong, he did.
No wonder men don’t respect women.
Thank you for addressing this problem. women’s groups have for far too long ignorged what women and girls are enduring as a result of the so-called sexual revolution. Its more like the sex revulsion. Just look at the way we are sexualized in our music, on tv, in ads, and just about everywhere you look and it is no wonder that our girls are though of as pieces of meat.
Perhaps when we as women put our foot down and challenge how we are depicted – we will empower our daughters to be treated as humans instead of objects to be groped and eye candy to be trotted around like cupie dolls for pleasure.
From the moment we are born we are told female is less than i.e. Tell a boy- “don’t cry like a girl, or run like a girl” the message to the girl and boy who hear it – boy is better – girl is lessor.
Look at every ad and even cartoons- males is always predator – female almost alwasy prey. Stop that – that is where it starts right at birth with the pink and the blue! Actually it is no longer pink and blue – now it is black and blue — have you checked the3 latest ads?
Perhaps then we won’t be called bitches and cunts from childhood right up until we run for President of the United States.
It is in our hands to stop. Let’s! The Majority United!
Great post- thanks
BJ
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