JAPAN BIZLAW LITE 4 GAIJIN
SEXUAL HARRASSMENT
Introduction
In an organization made up of superior and inferior status there is a danger that psychological damage caused by a persion in a superior position against the feelings of the person subject to such pressure. In addition, it can not be denied that feelings of superiority by a party in a superior position or a party in a superior position knowing secrets can make a weaker party a victim or exclude them from the group. In such situations causing individuals to lose respect due to sexual harrassment or discrimination is impermissible. Employees must be made to understand this and it is necessary to eradicate this from the corporate organization. Thus we will first discuss sexual harrassment, its conditions and methods of prevention. Following that we will discuss discrimination.
THE ACTUAL CONDITIONS OF SEXUAL HARRASSMENT AND DISCRIMINATION
What is Sexual Harrassment?
Sexual harrassment is where by words or actions another party is made to feel sexual dislike or disgrace and in many cases becomes a problem in the place of employment or in business relations. In most cases this involves words or actions by a male against a female.
There are criminal laws against some of this activity, depending on what happens and the seriousness of the offense, such as indecency (Criminal Code Article 176), extortion (Criminal Code Article 223), or defamation (Criminal Code Article 230) and there are also laws against stalking.
Letting sexual harrassment activities stand is a violation of the human rights of an employee and the law requires that the company prevent sexual harassment. In this legal situation, under the Civil Code the victim of sexual harassment can demand monetary compensation from the perpetrators and additionally demand compensation from the company for failing in its obligation to prevent such and nonperformance of their managerial obligations.
In recent years, as the law has advanced, the center of legal emphasis has shifted from the problem of relationships between members of the different sexes to the problems of the abuse of position. Thus there has developed in Japanese law the concept of Power Harrassment where a person in a superior position causes psychological distress to a person in an inferior position not based on any professional considerations, and exerts pressure outside the scope of appropriateness. Thus companies should also give consideration to this kind of problem as leaving this kind of problem to fester raises serious problems of violation of human rights.
What is Discrimination?
Discrimination puts a party or his associates in a disadvantageous position due to factors that are beyond their control, such as their race, nationality, sex, birth, social position, form, bodily condition or due to reasons which are protected as a key part of freedom, such as beliefs or religion.
This kind discrimination raises concern over demands for compensation from victims of the discrimination from the perpetrators or the company by denying the party opportunities or giving them disadvantageous evaluations. In recent years the problem of gender has been receiving greater attention as the roles of men and women, which have been fixed for unprofessional reasons for long periods over history. Fixed concepts such as men working on the job while women stay at home and take care of the children are now being replaced with realization of a joint society of men and women who can individually display their capabilities.
VARIETIES OF SEXUAL HARRASSMENT
According to the Ministry of Health and Labor the number cases of people coming for consultation on sexual harrassment now reaches into the thousands. Typical problems are as follows:
---Male employees show nude pictures on computers to female employees they do not like
---Re-employed female workers are pressured for sexual relations from the company president and if they refuse, they are fired.
---Male managers during work hours feel out female employee body parts.
---Female employees are invited out on dates by superiors, forcing the females to take long leaves from the company.
Thus sexual harrassment can take a variety of forms. These can be divided up though into 2 major types:
1. Compensatory Sexual Harrassment, and
2. Environmental Sexual Harrassment
Compensatory sexual harrassment takes the form of a person using a superior position or superior rights to make sexual demands. Usually this takes the form of a superior making demands on an inferior or for seconded workers, where managers of the company to which the worker is seconded making demands on the seconded worker.
Environmental sexual harrassment is the type where a remarkably bad effect is exerted on the work environment based on people at the work place engaging in disagreeable sexual conduct. Examples would be touching the bodies of female employees or posting nude pictures in the workplace.
SEXUAL HARRASSMENT PREVENTION AND COUNTERMEASURES
The 1999 amendment to the Male-Female Equal Opportunity Law requires that business business owners take necessary administration consideration such that female employees are not put in a disadvantageous position or are damaged by sexual words or activities at the work place. This law squarely places responsibility for the prevention of sexual harrassment on the shoulders of the company. In addition in court cases the proposition is taking hold that based on the labor contract, even in cases where the sexual harrassment victim demands compensation for damages from the company, the company has an obligation for workplace environment consideration. In other words management has a responsibility to carry out the following measures in order to prevent sexual harrassment:
1. As preventive measures, the preparation of sexual harrassment related regulations, the education of the employees about them, fulfillment of advisory offices and the preparation of the environment.
2. As a post factor measures, measures for preventing recurrence such as examinations, punishments and prevention of further sexual harrassment expansion.
Problem Points to be Given Attention on Handling Sexual Harrassment Problems
Whether an action constitutes sexual harrassment must be judged on the basis of the relationship of the two parties. The results can be completely different depending on whether the actor is a superior or a lover. Thus the existence of the sexual harrassment depends on the viewpoint of the victim. This can be a difficult judgment for a third party to make. In this sense as well, it must be borne in mind that in cases of particularly strong dislike, a case may be manufactured. As the label of sexual harrasser can gravely damage the party the manager in charge of handling these kinds of problems must take particular care to give both sides the opportunity to give their own explanation in order to try and make a clear and fair determination of the facts.
There is also the problem of stalking for which there is special legislation. These kinds of cases should be discussed with the police and it is required take measures in coordination with them. Stalking could constitute such activities as following (stalking!), waiting around for the victim, demanding dates, harrassing phone calls and mail (modern day email).
Introduction
In an organization made up of superior and inferior status there is a danger that psychological damage caused by a persion in a superior position against the feelings of the person subject to such pressure. In addition, it can not be denied that feelings of superiority by a party in a superior position or a party in a superior position knowing secrets can make a weaker party a victim or exclude them from the group. In such situations causing individuals to lose respect due to sexual harrassment or discrimination is impermissible. Employees must be made to understand this and it is necessary to eradicate this from the corporate organization. Thus we will first discuss sexual harrassment, its conditions and methods of prevention. Following that we will discuss discrimination.
THE ACTUAL CONDITIONS OF SEXUAL HARRASSMENT AND DISCRIMINATION
What is Sexual Harrassment?
Sexual harrassment is where by words or actions another party is made to feel sexual dislike or disgrace and in many cases becomes a problem in the place of employment or in business relations. In most cases this involves words or actions by a male against a female.
There are criminal laws against some of this activity, depending on what happens and the seriousness of the offense, such as indecency (Criminal Code Article 176), extortion (Criminal Code Article 223), or defamation (Criminal Code Article 230) and there are also laws against stalking.
Letting sexual harrassment activities stand is a violation of the human rights of an employee and the law requires that the company prevent sexual harassment. In this legal situation, under the Civil Code the victim of sexual harassment can demand monetary compensation from the perpetrators and additionally demand compensation from the company for failing in its obligation to prevent such and nonperformance of their managerial obligations.
In recent years, as the law has advanced, the center of legal emphasis has shifted from the problem of relationships between members of the different sexes to the problems of the abuse of position. Thus there has developed in Japanese law the concept of Power Harrassment where a person in a superior position causes psychological distress to a person in an inferior position not based on any professional considerations, and exerts pressure outside the scope of appropriateness. Thus companies should also give consideration to this kind of problem as leaving this kind of problem to fester raises serious problems of violation of human rights.
What is Discrimination?
Discrimination puts a party or his associates in a disadvantageous position due to factors that are beyond their control, such as their race, nationality, sex, birth, social position, form, bodily condition or due to reasons which are protected as a key part of freedom, such as beliefs or religion.
This kind discrimination raises concern over demands for compensation from victims of the discrimination from the perpetrators or the company by denying the party opportunities or giving them disadvantageous evaluations. In recent years the problem of gender has been receiving greater attention as the roles of men and women, which have been fixed for unprofessional reasons for long periods over history. Fixed concepts such as men working on the job while women stay at home and take care of the children are now being replaced with realization of a joint society of men and women who can individually display their capabilities.
VARIETIES OF SEXUAL HARRASSMENT
According to the Ministry of Health and Labor the number cases of people coming for consultation on sexual harrassment now reaches into the thousands. Typical problems are as follows:
---Male employees show nude pictures on computers to female employees they do not like
---Re-employed female workers are pressured for sexual relations from the company president and if they refuse, they are fired.
---Male managers during work hours feel out female employee body parts.
---Female employees are invited out on dates by superiors, forcing the females to take long leaves from the company.
Thus sexual harrassment can take a variety of forms. These can be divided up though into 2 major types:
1. Compensatory Sexual Harrassment, and
2. Environmental Sexual Harrassment
Compensatory sexual harrassment takes the form of a person using a superior position or superior rights to make sexual demands. Usually this takes the form of a superior making demands on an inferior or for seconded workers, where managers of the company to which the worker is seconded making demands on the seconded worker.
Environmental sexual harrassment is the type where a remarkably bad effect is exerted on the work environment based on people at the work place engaging in disagreeable sexual conduct. Examples would be touching the bodies of female employees or posting nude pictures in the workplace.
SEXUAL HARRASSMENT PREVENTION AND COUNTERMEASURES
The 1999 amendment to the Male-Female Equal Opportunity Law requires that business business owners take necessary administration consideration such that female employees are not put in a disadvantageous position or are damaged by sexual words or activities at the work place. This law squarely places responsibility for the prevention of sexual harrassment on the shoulders of the company. In addition in court cases the proposition is taking hold that based on the labor contract, even in cases where the sexual harrassment victim demands compensation for damages from the company, the company has an obligation for workplace environment consideration. In other words management has a responsibility to carry out the following measures in order to prevent sexual harrassment:
1. As preventive measures, the preparation of sexual harrassment related regulations, the education of the employees about them, fulfillment of advisory offices and the preparation of the environment.
2. As a post factor measures, measures for preventing recurrence such as examinations, punishments and prevention of further sexual harrassment expansion.
Problem Points to be Given Attention on Handling Sexual Harrassment Problems
Whether an action constitutes sexual harrassment must be judged on the basis of the relationship of the two parties. The results can be completely different depending on whether the actor is a superior or a lover. Thus the existence of the sexual harrassment depends on the viewpoint of the victim. This can be a difficult judgment for a third party to make. In this sense as well, it must be borne in mind that in cases of particularly strong dislike, a case may be manufactured. As the label of sexual harrasser can gravely damage the party the manager in charge of handling these kinds of problems must take particular care to give both sides the opportunity to give their own explanation in order to try and make a clear and fair determination of the facts.
There is also the problem of stalking for which there is special legislation. These kinds of cases should be discussed with the police and it is required take measures in coordination with them. Stalking could constitute such activities as following (stalking!), waiting around for the victim, demanding dates, harrassing phone calls and mail (modern day email).
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