A recent news story discussed the evolution of how sexual harassment is viewed in the workplace. When women in New Jersey and across the country first entered the workplace in full force, many of them dealt with unnecessary and unwanted attention. This often came from male co-workers who would sometimes make inappropriate remarks and unwelcome sexual advances that threatened the safety of a woman. In New Jersey, this was no different. But now, as time has gone on, the laws have changed, allowing both males and females to realize that sexual harassment in the workplace can be the cause of a hostile work environment. This can lead to legal ramifications that no company wants to experience, especially if it can be proven in a court of law.

A book that was published in 1978 has been credited with creating the term “sexual harassment.” Since then, the spotlight has not been brought off the delicate subject. Two years later, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was interpreted to include sexual harassment and a precedent was set allowing individuals to file lawsuits against their employers for allowing it to happen.

In 1991, another civil rights act was passed. This one reversed the way that courts would look at a sexual harassment case. Before the act was passed, cases were examined from the perspective of the defendant. After it was ratified, the act made sure that cases were considered from the angle of the plaintiff.

Several high-profile cases, some inspiring movies about the situations that the real-life women went through, have created and fine-tuned the laws that sexual harassment is now considered through over the past few decades. Before, sexual harassment was accepted by women as something they were forced to deal with. Now, things have changed and a woman is as entitled to a comfortable working environment as a man.

Source: Christian Science Monitor, “The evolution of sexual harassment awareness,” Maud Dillingham, Nov. 14, 2011