ANTI-

199.
What is...

Sexual
Harassment?

Sexual harassment is a
form of unlawful sex
discrimination, which
includes unwanted verbal
or physical behaviour of a
sexual nature that occurs
in the workplace or in an
educational setting under
certain conditions.

200. Is sexual harassment a form of discrimination?

The Supreme Court of the United States rules in a 1996
case that sexual harassment is a form of discrimination
prohibited by Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Unwelcome sexual advances, request for sexual favors,
and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature
constitutes sexual harassment.

201. Is there an anti-sexual harassment law in the

Philippines?
- The Philippine Anti-Sexual
Harassment Act of 1995.
- RA 7877, section 3

 202. Is this law addressed to the male specie?

-Strictly speaking, sexual harassment is sexual
coercion, a condition for favorable decisions
affecting one's job. In a strict legal sense, sexual
harassment could be committed by somebody
having authority or moral ascendancy over
another--usually by a male superior.

 203. What are the manifestations of sexual

harassment?
- Sexual harassment may be manifested in both the
verbal and physical conduct.

 204. What makes verbal sexual harassment

different from a compliment?
-A compliment, produces a good feeling so much so
one wants the interaction to go on. Sexual
harassment, is so discomforting that one wants it to
stop.

 205. Are employers accountable when sexual

harassment happens in the workplace?
-Because the Philippine Anti-Sexual Harassment
Act declares sexual coercion or any unreciprocated
and unsolicited behavior in the workplace or
educational institution unlawful, it imposes a duty on
the employer to prevent or deter anh commission of
acta as sexual harassment.

 206. Are witnesses important to prove that

sexual harassment took place in the workplace?
-Unless there are witnesses to the incident, which is
almost improbable to produce, a complaint for
sexual harassment usually winds up as a case of
the word of the female employee against that of the
alleged author of the sexual indiscretion.

 207. Are woman becoming more aware?

-accusations of sexual harassment occurred in the
united States at the highest levels of political power
in the 1990s. Beginning in 1992, several dozen
women accused US senator Robert Packwood of
making unwelcome and aggressive sexual
advances. He resigned in 1995 after the Senate
Ethics Committee voted to expel him on charges of
sexual misconduct.

 208. Why is sexual harassment in the

Philippines a different story?
-Because sexual harassment involves conduct of a
very sensitive nature, the general reaction to this
kind of harassment has something to do with our
culture. Almost always the Filipino women would
hesitate to report it when it occurs perhaps for fear
of being embarrassed or ruining their reputation.

 209. Why do the women victims take no action?

-Palabrica (1994) reports that in a local survey of female
bank employees, 95% of those who said they were
sexually harassed did not report the incident to
management. From among the reasons cited, it is evident
that they feared retaliation from their supervisors or
coworkers and that they would not want to go through the
inconvenience and complexities of having to file legal
charges against them. A 2007 survey might be interesting.

 210. What is the socio-enotional damage that follows?

1. Psycho emotional stress. Though the woman is the victim, oftentimes
she is made to feel responsible for being sexually harassed. Stressrelated illness, nervousness, forgetfulness, sleeplessness, resulting in
irritability and depression are just few bad results to mention.
2. A discarding aftermath. Sexual harassment also creates a distracting
work evolvement which may affect the competence and productivity of
women.
3. Self doubt Leiberluff 1996. Points out that the overriding effect is
when she begins to lose her confidence in her ability to carry out her job

 2011.
Yes, there are economic consequences to sexual
harassment. There are victims who report a
devastating economic impact and loss of income
because of denied demotions, poor evaluations, or
transfera. The interruption of one's career, forfeiture
of benefits, and social isolation are other adverse
affects of sexual harassment.

 2012. What are the Ethical principles violated by

sexual harassment?
-sexual harassment may appear to be slight injury to
the sensitivity, feelings, and freedom of the victim
but, in reality it is a dishonor to human dignity and a
direct transgression to basic human rights. Sexual
harassment is not only improper but also illegal and
unethical. It is against the law, social responsibility,
code of conduct, ethics, and etiquette.

 2013. Is it a management issue?

-When ignored, sexual harassment can exact a
high cost to the company in terms of loss of
productivity, high absenteeism among affected
employees, disruption of work from long-term sick
leaves, retraining of new personnel because of
workforce turnover and low morale on female
employees.

 214. What are the social responsibilities of managers?

-Management plays ang important part in carrying out a strict policy
against sexual harassment by cutting the roof of the problem, so to
speak. As always recommended, an ounce of prevention is better
than a pound of cure.
-following the principle of command responsibility, the management
should be the first one to create a working climate where all
employees, male and female, learn to respect one another's integrity
(preventive) and to look seriously into the matter when it occurs
(curative). To this effect, the European Commission Code of Practice
(1993) includes the following among the social duties of managers:

 To explain and positively promote the policy to their staff

To ensure a working environment free of visual forms of sexual harassment
To be alert to any practice of verbal forms of harassment and ready to take
necessary action accordingly
To be responsive and supportive to any member of staff who complains about
sexual harassment
To ensure confidentiality in dealing with all cases of sexual harassment
To ensure full and clear advice on the procedure
To deal with all cases promptly
To provide additional appraisal and counseling sessions to staff member who
have difficulty in accepting or implementing the policy
To attend training sessions related to sexual harassment

CHALLENGING

CHILD

LABOR

 215. What is the Philippine experience?

-there are about 4M child laborers in the Philippines---aged
between 5 to 17yrs.
-More than 2.5M = Unpaid Workers (family-operated
businesses)
-900,000 Child laborers = work in private establishment
-more than 350,000 = household helps
-270,000 = self-employed
-60% of child laborers are unprotected from hazardous
environment that put their health and life risk

 216. What constitutes child labor?

-Child labor, the employment of children below 15yrs old,
is both illegal and unethical. On June 17, 1992, RA 7610
(Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse)
Exploitation and Discrimination Act approved by the
President of the Philippines.
On May 12, 1994, RA 7658 was issued by the Department
of Labor and Employment which provides that among
others, it is illegal to employ children under 15yrs of age.

 217. What are the dire reasons why children work?

1.Poverty. The phenomenon of street children and child
labor are the twin offspring of poverty.
2. Traditional distorted beliefs. Regrettably, there are
some poor parents who believe that children must help
to pay debts and support the family.
3. Convenience on the part of employer. It is very
convenient for most heartless employers to hire them
because children do not or cannot complain much.

 218. What are the evil consequences of child labor?

1. Physical deterioration. Since their body emotion, psyche and mind
have not matured yet, children should not work. The heartbreaking reality,
that most of them do.
2. Mental wasting. Their mental faculties are not properly develop due to
lack of formal education, which in turn is due to working at a tender age
and extreme physical exhaustion.
3. Low aspiration. As time goes by, child laborer may soon aquire distaste
for regular employment because they lack proper training and are
physically worn out.
4. Moral decay. Encouraged to play truant, the working children's total
education suffers.

 219. Are parents legally liable?

-The Philippine Commission on Human Rights (CHR) believed parents Bai
and Karim Balabagan have violated the law against child abuse when they
allowed their adolescent daughter Sarah to work as domestic helper in the
United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the 1990s. Sarah was later accused of
murder and was jailed after she stabbed and killed her elderly employer who
tried to rape her.
The Human Rights Commissioner Nasser Morohomsalic said Republic Act
7610 which penalizes child abuse was signed by then President Corazon
Aquino on June 17 1992, two years before Sarah went to the UAE. The laq
attaches criminal liability to any parents who, by his/her actuation, deprives
his/her child of parent love, care, protection, and education.

 220. Are parents morally liable?

-in addition to being legally liable, the parents of
Sarah Balabagan, particularly, the father who
defaulted from his responsibility, are also morally
responsible for ger afflictions. A destitute home, a
poor family and a degrading socioeconomic
environment, plus the worsening labor situation and
ab army of greedy labor recruiters, all of these were a
breeding grounds for the likes of Sarah Balabagan.

 221. What are the multiple approach to the problem of child

labor?
-one effective approach is the use of labels, which seeks to
ensure that a single product or product type is free from child
labor. Another is by codes of conduct and supplier guidelines,
usually tailored to the specific issues faced by a particular
company. By these tactics, business sends two clear signals:
first, to all partners that is hardnosed, resolute, and
uncompromising with the issue of child labor; and second, to
consumers to inform that products/services are 100% child
labor-free.

 222. Is labelling effective?

-Critics suggest that labelling is generally too
simplistic an approach by which to combat such a
complex problem, for it is extremely hard to
guarantee that a product has been manufactured
without the use of child labor. However, such labels
can bring benefits when they are supported by a
rigorously applied audit process.

 223. How do codes of conduct and supplier

guidelines work?
-Some NGOs have developed, or provide advice on
developing such codes. In the carpet and rug
industry, Rugmark is a name to remember. It is a
voluntary scheme that seeks to control the worst
excesses of the rug and carpet industry in Asia by
encouraging loom owners to register their looms and
hence quality to apply the Rugmark to their product.

 224. How do businesses learn from the

experience of others?

FOCUS ON CUSTOMER.

 225. Do some businesses focus on suppliers and the

community?
-Elimination or change in the role of children. Whenever
the role of children is changed, whether it is eliminated or
reduce in scope, the benefit to both the company and
child will be greatest if the changes are introduced in a
controlled fasion, possibly over a period of time.
Whatever the response is, good communication with all
affected stakeholders is absolutely essential.

 226. What is Royal Dutch/Shell group soing vis--vis

chils labor?
1. No kid pumps in gas, even in a remote town in Mindanao.
We are assured, positively, that all Shell employees are
above the local legal age of employment and none is under
15yrs old.
2. Shell companies include specific anti-child labor clauses
in the contracts they draw up with their suppliers and
contractors. Shell companies are increasingly screening
contractors and/or suppliers against the use of child labor.