Module 5

1.What do you mean by Gender

Harrassment?

Answer:

Gender harassment encompasses a broad range of verbal and nonverbal behaviours

ranging from insults to hostility to aggressive attitudes, aimed at individuals based
of their gender1. It is, by far, one of the most common formsof harassment
prevalent in workplaces, especially in male-dominated professions, such as
shipping and maritime. Harassment of this form can be perpetrated by any person
from the workforce. Gender-based harassment can be meted out using physical
force, verbal or psychological tactics, and it can be discreet, subtle, overt or
evident. Any form of gender harassment can be damaging to the victim’s physical
and psychological health.

Incidents of harassment turn the work environment harmful and unsafe for the
victim and other employees who are a witness to it. The victim may face isolation
in workplace becausethe hostile environment and behaviours towards him/her or
concerning him/her. It can impact the unity and peace of the workplace and
produce worry among other employees as well.

This chapter will discuss the various forms of harassment faced by women with
special reference to the maritime industry.

2.Explain the Various Types of Harassment.

Answer:

Broadly, harassment at workplaces can be categorized into the following three

types:

• Verbal Harassment
• Physical Harassment
• Sexual Harassment

1. Verbal Harassment: When harm is inflicted upon an individual in the course

of verbal interactions, by verbal means, it is said to be verbal abuse or harassment.
While verbal harassment may not always be as easily identifiable as other types of
harassment, such as physical or sexual, it is disturbing nonetheless for the victim.
It leads them to question their own identity, experience feelings of inadequacy,
and lowers their self-esteem. For the harasser, it is a way to control and maintain
power over their victim. Verbal harassment can leave the victim feeling confused,

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uncomfortable, threatened or even intimidated.

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Commonly, verbal harassment can take the following forms:

 Teasing or making inappropriate jokes or remarks (e.g., remarks or jokes

based on one’s sex, gender or race).
 Asking someone to go out with them repeatedly, despite their refusal.
 Making sexual advances and/or seeking sexual favours.
 Inquiring about sexual preferences or history of a colleague, or asking
questions based on their sexual life, in the workplace, despite the other
person having expressed discomfort in talking about them.
 Maligning a colleague’s character in the workforce or team.
 Using abusive language or indulging in offensive name-calling.
 Negatively commenting about a person’s clothing or body.
 Making inappropriate sounds such as that of kissing or whistling, or
smacking or biting lips upon seeing the victim.
 Sending sexual emails, notes or letters.
 Verbally attacking the individual; for instance, arguing with them using
threatening, discriminatory, or demeaning words, or embarrassing someone
in front of people. For example, an employer shouting and yelling at an
employee over poor performance and manipulating them.

The law does not consider all forms of verbal harassment illegal unless something
appears unlawful under the rule of the law and consists of a clear intent to malign
or harass someone. In instances where a verbal abuse is not considered illegal by
the law but makes the victim feel uncomfortable, the victim should communicate
her discomfort to the abuser firmly and assertively. For example, a comment like
‘You have a frail upper body for a seafarer’ may make a woman seafarer feel
objectified and uncomfortable. When passed at workplaces, the person must
communicate to the one making the comment, preferably through an email, as it is
considered an official channel of communication, that such comments are not
appreciated and should not be repeated. Yet, if the person making the comments
does not relent, the matter should be escalated and the superiors, grievances team
or human resources department of the company should be involved.

2) Physical Harassment: When a person acts or behaves inappropriately using

physical actions, gestures or force, it is called physical harassment. It may include
intimidating, embarrassing or threatening a victim. For example, touching
someone against their consent or will. Physical harassment in workplaces is also
called workplace violence. Apart from the psychological trauma, physical
harassment can sometimes cause physiological injuries to the victim.

Most common forms of physical harassment include:

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  Physical or sexual assault or abuse
 Rape
 Intentional inappropriate touching or grabbing someone
 Using intimidating gestures
 Deliberately rubbing on someone or someone’s body
 Blocking movement of the employee being harassed
 Forcefully kissing or hugging someone

3) Sexual Harassment: Sexual harassment includes a variety of inappropriate

behaviours that range from physical and verbal to non-verbal forms. Sexual
harassment primarily constitutes any unwanted and non-consensual exposure of
sexual organs, displaying of sexual images, or making of sexually inappropriate
gestures at work. Sexual harassment may sometimes, but not necessarily, occur
alongside verbal or physical harassment.

A few of the ways in which one can be sexually harassed and that female
employees must beware of are:

 Exposure of private parts.

 Sending sexual images to another person. For example, sending
pornographic videos to another woman through a social media platform,
without the consent of the person.
 Making gestures which are sexually inappropriate.
 Staring at a person’s body offensively and making the victim feel
uncomfortable through eye gaze.
 Sharing with or displaying nasty messages or content from a website,
book or magazine without the consent of the person.

Physical and sexual harassment are serious types of harassment in and out of
workplaces. Even though India has strict laws against harassment, physical and
sexual harassment continue to be perpetrated. In a survey conducted by the
International Maritime Health Association (IMHA) in 2015, 595 female seafarers
revealed that over 18% of them had been subject to sexual harassment on ships.
While male seafarers can also be victims of sexual harassment, most reported cases
are related to women seafarers. Harassment of this sort is driven by the
establishment of a male-generated culture in this industry.

3.Emphasise on Power Dynamics and Harassment.

Answer:

Psychology behind harassment reveals that the perpetrator is usually in a powerful

position at the time of harassing another person. The position of power may come
from age, greater body size, gender, seniority and economic or social status, and
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is misused in various contexts from home to school and even

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workplace. An imbalance of power creates an atmosphere where honest
communication is not possible and may discourage victims from speaking up.

Harassment at workplaces may be subtle and insidious, so much so that the

victim is often left wondering if their discomfort is all in their mind. The silence
on the part of the victim can be misinterpreted by the harasser as a green signal
or encouragement for the unwanted behaviour. The greater the power wielded
by the harasser, the lesser the chance of the victim speaking out against the
inappropriate behaviour.

The harasser might make a few ‘harmless’ jokes with their colleagues, or give off
a large chunk of the workload to the ‘newbie’ at work when their inappropriate
advances are rejected or rebelled against. In such an environment with unequal
power dynamics, it becomes very difficult for the victim to even step forward to
report the incident or file an official complaint.

Sometimes, for a worker to tell her senior to not make sexual innuendoes can be
difficult and leave the superior feeling offended and outraged.

It is up to each one of us to make the working environment safe enough for each
employee to function to their best ability and enable victims to speak out and
empower them with confidence and assurance that help and support are available.
The victim should not be singled out and further humiliated. A safe working
environment for women can only be created with stringent laws and policies, a
supportive environment and responsible expression of power. The issue of sexual
harassment as a significant concern needs to be redressed firmly, however
challenging it may be.

4. Enumerate Gender Harassment in the Maritime Industry.

Answer

Maritime law protects all seafarers against discrimination and sexual harassment.
Yet, these rights are often reported to be violated.

There are instances where no such protection against harassment and sexual assault
incidents is offered, leading women to suffer in silence and never receive the
compensation they deserve. As a result, many such acts go unreported, worsening
the situation. When the issue is brushed under the carpet, there is no record of it.
Women seafarers who are sexually harassed are often reluctant to file a complaint
out of the fear of being tainted socially and professionally, or losing their job.

An issue is that of a country-to-country difference in the perception of what sexual

harassment is and especially plays out on ships that have a crew with different
cultures, where there is a challenge of establishing a common understanding about

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gender equality on board. Absence of a clear consensus or

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rules on appropriate conduct may lead to misbehaviour towards the other gender.

A look into research studies shows observations that European women seafarers
might encounter different perceptions and expectations about gender when
working with Asian male seafarers. There have been cases of women seafarers
finding it problematic to wear sleeveless clothing in front of the Filipino crew.
Women have even felt conscious about their appearance and adapted to more
masculine clothing, hairstyles and body language in a bid to gel in.

There are other risk factors like isolation at workplace and the inability to leave
it after the shift. In the cruise sector, the interaction with third parties also poses
risk to women seafarers at times. Further, the intersectionality of gender such as
race, age, social class and marital status is relevant to the vulnerability of women
being subject of sexual harassment. A few surveys and research on sexual
harassment state that sea-based women professionals are more vulnerable to
sexual harassment in the form of physical behaviour than shore- based women
professionals because of the confined space onboard, which increases the risk of
sexual harassment. The residential and isolated nature ofthe ship may increase
the chance of sexual harassment.

Some of the incidents that women have had to face are:

 A male colleague visiting a woman seafarer's cabin or forcing her to

enter his cabin.

 A couple of holes were found to have been created in the female

toilet.

 Sexual overtures or sexually disinhibited behaviour have been noted in

addition to physical behaviour. Verbal and non-verbal sexual harassment
are also reported on board.

 A male seafarer commenting about a woman seafarer’s appearance,

making sexist jokes and remarks about inevitable sexual abstinence
onboard.

 Constantly staring at women seafarers’ physique, displaying

inappropriate photos, and stealing or playing with their personal clothes.

 Calendars or photographs with nude content of female genders are

commonly displayed in the workplace or on computer screens.

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Cultural background casts an influence on the approach to what sexual harassment
is, affecting not only perpetrators but also victims. A ship functionsas a micro-
universe when it comes to these matters, adding layers of difficultyto addressing
this complex problem.

Women have also shared several incidents on social media platforms regarding
harassment that they have gone through – these incidents include experiencing
direct sexual advances from crew members of a superior rank despite clearly
expressing disinterest and discomfort, receiving poor evaluation after rejecting
sexual advances and getting touched inappropriately, or male crew member
inappropriately revealing himself in front of them.

To avoid such experiences women seafarers have reportedly changed their

appearances and tried to hide their femininity by shortening hair, wearing loosely
fitting clothes, and even looking consciously unappealing.

While sexual harassment is not an offense punishable under the seafarers’ standard
contract, survivors can lodge complaints for ‘gross misbehaviour’ or ‘abuse of
authority’ if the perpetrator is an officer or supervisor.

5. What are the Consequences of Harassment.

Answer:

Harassment, be it verbal, physical or sexual, can have serious physical as well

as psychological consequences. These incidents can also be categorized as
psychological harassment and can cause victims to experience concerns such as
anxiety, depression, panic attacks, post-traumatic stress disorder, to name a few.

According to the Canadian Act Respecting Labour Standards (ALS), the following
criteria is considered as psychological harassment in the workplace:

 Vexatious Behaviour

Vexatious behaviour includes being abusive and humiliating towards a person and
treating them offensively, which might, in turn, affect the individual’s self- esteem
and cause anguish.

Considered on its own, a verbal comment, gesture, or behaviour may seem

innocent. It is the accumulation of all of these behaviours that may snowball
into harassment. It could, however, also be a single serious gesture that triggers an
alarm. For example, an employer who touches his employee’s private parts without
her consent during a party is committing sexual harassment, which isalso a
kind of physical and psychological harassment.

 Hostile Conduct
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 A hostile conduct comprises of behaviour that is violent, aggressive,
threatening or harmful towards an individual.

 Harming the Dignity/ Psychological or Physical Integrity

These behaviours could include those that belittle or devalue an individual,which

may lead to the individual suffering permanent psychological or physical harm.

6.What could be done by victims?

Answer

- Clearly Assert to the harasser your disagreement and discomfort caused

by their behaviour.

- Speak about your experience to your colleagues or a trustworthy person.

- Write a journal of incidents with places, dates, times, facts, gestures and
witnesses mentioned, as it can be helpful in reporting them.

- Contact a support group if available.

- Get in touch with a person in an authority position and report an incident.

7.Mention Indian Laws Against Psychological Harassment.

Answer

Guidelines applying to ship-owning and managing companies that operate ships

over 500 Gross Register Tonnage (GRT) registered under the Merchant Shipping
Act of 1958, India’s maritime administration, the Directorate Generalof Shipping
(DGS), announced guidelines, the first of their kind, outlining measures to promote
women, seafarers, by providing a conducive work atmosphere on-board ships.

Moreover, as part of an Indian law, theVishakha Guidelines are set to prevent

sexual harassment of women at workplaces and ensure that the people who indulge
in the act of sexual harassment are given a justifiable punishment.

8.What kind of change is necessary to promote a culture of genderequality

on board?

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Answer:
Reporting of incidences is indeed important in terms of understanding what is
happening onboard, applying laws and policies, and taking appropriate care of
victims. However, it is important to combine such reactive measures with more
proactive measures to protect seafarers from sexual harassment and bullying.

Gender discrimination is pervasive in many societies and multicultural male-

dominated environment on board ships. In some countries, it is also a requirement
to avoid employer liability for not providing a work environmentfree from sex
discrimination. Hence, while businesses do comply in making their anti-
harassment policy and provide grievance procedures, it is mainly to avoid liability.

Against this backdrop, other measures that specifically aim to bring a cultural
change by raising awareness of maritime professionals towards sexual harassment
behaviours and promote a culture of gender equality onboard have to be taken.
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) are an important tool and the
International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) Standard CBA includes an
equality clause that reads as follows: ‘Each Seafarer shall be entitled to work, train
and live in an environment free from harassment and bullying whether sexually,
racially or otherwise motivated, in accordance with ITF policy guidelines.’

However, such a clause still needs to be made operational, for example, by

providing a guide of best practices as has been done by the Ship Operations
Cooperative Program in the United States parallel to the adoption in 2016 of the
law ‘Subtitle C- Sexual Harassment and Assault Prevention at the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’ of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017,as a reaction to 21 cases reported in a short
period of time. This ‘Best Practices Guide on Prevention of Sexual Assault and
Sexual Harassment in the U.S. Merchant Marine’ specifically targets and sends
the right message about this type of abuse.

The ILO has also integrated within the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), 2006,
through 2016 Amendments, the provisions for eliminating shipboard harassment
and bullying, as published in the ICS/ITF guidelines.

In addition to reporting and grievance proceedings, prevention policies and

programs are required at company level. A zero-tolerance policy in these matters
starts with a clear and strong stance by company management and a top- bottom
implementation. Research in the public sector and other sectors, such as
manufacturing and higher education, shows how important it is to have several
policies or programs put in place at the company level to properly combatsexual
harassment as they encourage harassed women and men to take a more assertive
stand against harassment. The point is to make personnel onboard

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aware of the zero-tolerance policy adopted by the State and, in particular, the
company.

For example, Anglo-Eastern, one of the largest ship management companies based
in Hong Kong, published a booklet on gender diversity in order to raise awareness
about gender among its crew from different countries. It includes the definition of
sexual harassment as ‘making unwanted advances of a sexual nature towards a
particular person’ which affect the dignity of women and men at work. The
booklet was not only used as a training material but also widely shared with other
maritime organizations to promote gender equality. Likewise, as a part of
preventative measures, educating crew is seen as a powerful tool to prevent
harassment onboard.

Any tools for promoting gender equality on board require an effective

implementation scheme. To this end, education and training programs have
delivered better outcomes than just establishing an anti-harassment policy along
with complaint mechanisms.

Against this background, the trainer should alert trainees about the impact of
any form of sexual harassment upon the victim and ultimately the whole work
environment. The point to be clearly made is that all employees onboard are
responsible for a work environment free from gender discrimination. In other
words, passive bystanders are to be considered accomplices in any abuse.

Because it is about raising awareness, training should be face-to-face, at least

the first time it is provided, in order to promote discussion. In general, tailor- made
courses should be designed taking into account the diverse cultural background
onboard. Maritime institutions mainly take a technical approach to training that is
long overdue and requires mainstreaming in terms of diversity.

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