Trauma In The Office

Sexual harassment, especially in the office, certainly happens. But because women have been so used to accepting men´s advances as normal, women employee abuse is often ignored even by the victims themselves, regardless of whether she thought any jokes, comments or actions tasteless and/or offensive. However, every woman employee must know that there is such a law that may be able to help her in incidences like this.

According to Section 3 of the Anti-Sexual Harassment Law (Republic Act 7877), sexual harassment is “The sexual favor made as a condition in the hiring or in the employment, reemployment or continued employment of said individual, or in granting said individual favorable compensation, terms, conditions, promotions, or privileges; or the refusal to grant the sexual favor results in limiting, segregating or classifying the employee which in any way would discriminate, deprive or diminish employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect said employee.” R.A. 7877 was created for the purpose of addressing this problem.

Unfortunately, almost always the Filipinas would hesitate to report women employee abuse when it occurs, to save themselves from possible embarrassments or ruining their reputation.

Sometimes, however, sexual harassment could affect the victim in various levels and degrees.

The Socio-emotional Damage

Sexual harassment, though in various degrees, form an unhappy episode of a woman´s life. A woman is always expected to smile and be a sport about it, but sexual coercion and annoyance are never good and could cause psycho-emotional trauma. Sexual harassment is never minor and has its consequences. The victims may feel the effect of a degrading aftermath, self-doubt, some economic loss and even a possible breakdown of a relationship.

1. Psycho-emotional stress. Persons who are harassed may suffer a loss of self-esteem, especially in the absence of a supportive environment. This may be a damaging trauma affecting her self-confidence, whether her abilities, physical appearance or competence. It does not help when at times, it is the victim whom people put the blame on. The emotional turmoil may result in certain stress-related illnesses, nervousness, forgetfulness, sleeplessness, irritability and depression.

2. Degrading aftermath. This type of women employee abuse may result to a distracting work environment. At times, it affects women´s competence and productivity. When a woman chooses to keep her silence, she may be misconstrued as someone willing to trade on sexist jokes and even sleep her way to the top. Discrimination takes place, degrading a woman´s value based on sexuality. This is clearly not a fair deduction. Such a situation stifles the professional growth of women, after all their efforts fending off unwelcome and repeated sexual advances from their bosses and co-workers.

3. Self-doubt. Lost confidence may affect the victim´s ability to carry out her job. She makes the classic mistake of thinking that perhaps, she is responsible for the harassment – she asked for it, provoked it, wore the wrong dress, said the wrong things, or was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Such a reaction to such women employee abuse begets self-doubt, and as everyone who has ever felt it knows, it is not an easy matter to confront. In this case, it is easier to fall into such a state of mind rather than feel empowered. After all, women have always gotten the blame for incidences of sexual harassment and sexual assault. It can demean and damage the victim irreparably.

In times like this, what a woman really needs are family and friends ready to lend her support emotionally and psychologically with open minds and open hearts.

Article Source: http://www.largedirectory.info

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