Prevention of Sexual Harassment

For years, no one thought there was anything amiss about Indiana Jones rescuing his former lover Marian Ravenwood from the clutches of an evil Nazi in Raiders of the Lost Ark. He was an iconic hero with a whip and treated women far better than James Bond.

But then the questions started. Outside her burning bar in Nepal after she punched Indiana, did she say: “I was a child. I was in love. It was wrong and you knew it!"?

She did and declared her hatred of him for how he treated her. Later as Indiana tried to apologise, Marion said, “Do you know what you did to me? To my life?”

What did he do? What did he do?

The 40-year anniversary of the 1981 film set the moral compass spinning out of control in the search for the truth. Debates, accusations, character assassinations and psychological analysis of a George Lucas transcript from 1978 generated more interest than the celebratory screenings of the classic film. She was 15, definitely not 11, Indy was in his mid-twenties. It was different back then. Actually, she was 16 and maybe they only kissed a few times as the PR machine kicked in to limit the damage.

Without the wonder of public relations, shrugging shoulders and the suspension of disbelief, the fictional Indiana Jones might have been forced to apologise to his real-life audience for his error in judgement. This conflict may have played a role in the disappointing Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and there was no effort to rewrite the past in the Dial of Destiny when they travelled back in time.

Maybe it was a misunderstanding.

What is Sexual Harassment?

Sexual harassment happens in fiction and in the real world. When sex and attraction go toxic. Not what audiences want to see unless it is a hard-hitting drama. Sex can be escapism and brings eyes to the small and silver screen. Actresses and actors sign nudity and sex scene clauses - a nudity rider - which is a detailed agreement for filming intimate scenes. There are intimacy coordinators, body doubles, vagina shields, pocket socks and clever camera shots and choreography to create the illusion of sex.

Studies suggest the average person thinks about sex between 8 and 19 times a day, with men generally thinking about it more frequently than women. But in the workplace and adulthood you say goodbye to adolescent hormones and turn into Lego people who are assembled to do a job with no post-watershed existence or carnal knowledge. The rules of attraction can lead to workplace romances and marriages but the workplace is designed to prevent sex.

Unfortunately not everyone realises that. The power of sexual escapism or sexual power mean more than the deterrent and penalties in employee policies. The I see, I want sense of entitlement can turn the Lego figure into a harasser who can box you in and knock down the walls around you.

Sexual harassment became legally recognised as workplace discrimination in the UK in 1986. It was formally outlawed under the Equality Act 2010 with the 2024 booster to proactively prevent sexual harassment, not just respond to it.

Man, woman, opposite sex, same sex, in-person, virtually, against individuals or groups, less favourable treatment, victimisation. Violating the worker’s dignity or to create an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment of a sexual nature. The Equality and Human Rights Commission has a long list of what constitutes sexual harassment in the workplace.

Year One Done, What Now?

Employers are now a year in to exercising their duty to prevent sexual harassment at work. Sexual harassment is judged by how the worker experienced the conduct and by objective reasons whether that experience was reasonable. The test combines the worker’s subjective perception with an objective assessment of reasonableness.

HR, investigation managers, decision managers and appeal managers applying sexual harassment policies to the circumstances of cases to determine if the alleged acts were sexual harassment and if they are more likely than not to have happened. This can be difficult and if it leads to litigation, will the investigation and decision making stand up to scrutiny?

What about casework data on sexual harassment cases? Annual reviews? Risk assessments? Organisations can prevent sexual harassment but what if the causes and risks are complex. What then? It’s not just inside the organisation, it’s third parties, the public and what if your employees are suspected of sexually harassing people from other organisations?

What needs to happen in year two and beyond to prevent sexual harassment? Lego demonstrations of what it is and how to stop it? Stop laughing, sexual harassment is not funny.