ABSTRACT
Sexual harassment has become a bane globally and while most organizations have adopted some form of resistance towards it, others have treated it like a “white elephant”, and would rather adopt a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy with respect sexual harassment. One very important global institution is the United Nations. The purpose of this research is to provide an insight into sexual harassment and how deep this phenomenon has eaten into society. In doing so, this paper seeks to marry the issue of sexual harassment with the policies of the UN against it, considering the fact that they have adopted a zero-tolerance policy to sexual harassment. While using data from both primary and secondary sources which will be analyzed qualitatively, this research makes use of the organizational theory in examining how robust the policies of the UN are in tackling sexual harassment within its walls. The study ultimately concludes that even though policies against sexual harassment exist in the UN, the organization has not been able to effectively implement them due to some reasons like the position of the OIOS. Issues like the abuse of authority and that of legal immunity have in more ways than one crippled the activities and the reach of the OIOS and by extension, the UN. The study recommends that the OIOS should adopt an all-inclusive approach in dealing with the issue of sexual harassment as well as conduct training sessions for employees and supervisors alike as this would act as a preventive measure against sexual harassment.
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
Harassment refers to any form of aggressive pressure or intimidation by one person on the other. This is regardless of age or status. Synonyms include persecution, badgering, intimidation, bother, annoyance, irritation, pressure, force, coercion and the list goes on. From the above, it can be observed that harassment covers a broad array of behaviors that are disrespectful and derogatory in nature. These can include the use of subtle means or in extremities, aggression which can go as far as rape. Harassment is not a respecter of time and place and can occur in venues like the office, gym, home, school etc. I think it is safe to say that anywhere there are at least two or more humans, there is always the possibility for harassment to take place. There are different types of harassment, including Quid pro quo harassment which means “something for something”; sexual harassment can be explicit or implicit, verbal harassment, third party harassment, hostile environment or stalking, especially at the workplace.
According to the Secretary-General’s bulletin ST/SGB/2008/5 under Ban Ki Moon’s administration, harassment
“…is any improper and unwelcome conduct that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation to another person. Harassment may take the form of words, gestures or actions which tend to annoy, alarm, abuse, demean, intimidate, belittle, humiliate or embarrass another or which create an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment”.
Sexual harassment is a form of discrimination that happens when an individual decides owing to his or her position or power to take advantage of another individual in a sexual manner either by force or coercion. As stated earlier, this type of harassment can be in two forms. This is either done forcefully or by coercion of some kind but the bottom line is that
it is against the wishes of the second individual, hence violates his or her human rights. It should be noted that sexual harassment only takes place when there is either at least one unwilling party or an oblivious one.
The Secretary-General’s bulletin and by extension, the UN has defined sexual harassment in its guidelines as
“…unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, or any other behavior of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation to another, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment”.
Per the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission criteria on sexual harassment, the definition of sexual harassment covers a wide range of behaviors, including
“…actual or attempted rape or sexual assault, unwanted pressure for sexual favors, unwanted deliberate touching, leaning over, cornering or pinching, unwanted sexual looks or gestures, unwanted pressure for dates, whistling at someone, cat calls, referring to an adult as a girl, hunk, doll, babe or honey, kissing sounds and smacking lips at someone, neck massage, and even staring at someone”.
The U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is a federal agency that regulates and implements civil rights laws against workplace discrimination. The organization, which was founded on the 2nd of July, 1965 by the United State Congress, has its headquarters in Washington, D. C. and is currently chaired by Janet Dhillon who took office in May, 2019.
With sexual harassment and by extension, harassment comes some form of psychological trauma on the part of the victims.
The UN is an international organization founded in 1945. It is currently made up of 193 member states and its work is guided by the principles in the founding charter. Given its
name by President Franklin Roosevelt, it was first used in the Declaration by United Nations of 1st January, 1942 during the Second World War.
On the 28th of March, 2018, at the International Peace Institute policy forum, a panel of UN officials and diplomats discussed the subject of how to combat and overcome sexual harassment at the United Nations. The 18 pages long policies stipulated by the United Nations on the issue of sexual harassment provided avenues through which reports on sexual harassment can be made. It stated categorically that there is no deadline whatsoever when a case of sexual harassment is reported. Ways by which reports on sexual harassment can be received and handled include the following:
- Early direct action which states that the affected individuals can voluntarily approach offenders and explain to them the import of their actions considering the fact that some perpetrators might be oblivious to the consequences of their actions.
- Managerial intervention: This states that the target or victim approaches a supervisor or other higher ranked officials to discuss the situation. Here, managers are to provide advice, support and any form of required assistance to the target in a ‘timely, sensitive and impartial manner’.
- There is also confidential advice where the targets are encouraged to open up to an informal source and they are also advised on the applicable legal frameworks and other available options.
- Lastly, by their own free will, the targets can deal with the issue informally through a mediator. In cases where this approach is unsuccessful, nothing stops the target from making a formal report.
Structures have also been made available that would guarantee the prevention of sexual harassment and these include the screening of candidates during the recruitment process and
making sure that individuals with history of sexual harassment are not hired, zero-tolerance for sexual harassment and taking appropriate measures in dealing with defaulters, provision of training for managers and personnel tasked to provide support to victims and also training for staff at large on diversity, respect, equality and bystanders technique for intervening in situations of sexual harassment.
As a subsidiary body of the United Nations, the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) reviews all reports on sexual harassment for possible investigation. With due respect to the operations of individual investigative bodies under the UN, these entities are encouraged to empower themselves in the conduct of their investigations and propose instruments and avenues through which sexual harassment can be curbed.
The purpose of this research is to operationalize these policies in analyzing the effectiveness of the UN in tackling sexual harassment among its employees as well as those working on UN projects in Ghana. This research takes into consideration the fact that sexual harassment can have both the male and female gender at the receiving end, hence, it is not gender biased.
Problem Statement
Giving the UN concern and policies on sexual harassment, it is easy to conclude that the topic of sexual harassment is being dealt with at the UN but recent research shows that there is a noteworthy amount of sexual harassment cases in the UN and little action has been taken to rectify the situation. According to THE GUARDIAN on 18th January, 2018, it was reported that “out of the United Nations employees interviewed, 15 said they had experienced or reported sexual harassment or assault within the past five years. The alleged offences ranged from verbal harassment to rape”.
