Sexual harassment in the workplace may be understood as unwanted sexual advances or obscene acts or language (McDonald & Charlesworth, 2016). Although sexual harassment in the workplace may be perpetuated against men, it has tended to be considered a gendered problem that is more severe for women than men (Holland et al., 2016). This is because for most perpetrators, the purpose of sexual harassment is not aimed at sexual gratification, but the assertion of power and dominance (Lim & Cortina, 2005). Sexual harassment represents one of the ways in which men in the workplace attempt to assert their dominance over women through aggressive behaviour. This essay will consider the causes, effects and how this might inform ways in which sexual harassment may be appropriately tackled.
