Sexual harassment and abuse in schools and universities, workplaces, private and government institutions, civil society organizations, and even in virtual spaces, has been one of the major challenges that has shifted from the margins to the center of discussions about various forms of gender-based violence over the past three decades. However, it still poses a threat to creating a safe environment in the workplace and promoting equality and respect for human rights.

Despite the fact that according to the World Bank’s 2020 report, over 140 countries have enacted laws on sexual and gender-based harassment and violence, and there has been increasing awareness about the various forms of harassment and abuse in the workplace, this issue still remains one of the prominent forms of violence against women and girls.

In June 2019, on the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the International Labor Organization, the Convention on Violence and Harassment (ILO #190) and the Recommendation of the International Labor Organization (ILO #206) were adopted. At this conference, the global community declared that it will not tolerate gender-based violence, harassment, and abuse in the world of work, and called on governments, employers, and business owners to take comprehensive, integrated, and responsive measures to prevent and address violence, harassment, and abuse in the workplace. This convention clearly recognizes the right of every individual to a workplace free from violence, harassment, and abuse, including gender-based violence and abuse. The International Labor Organization Convention defines sexual and gender-based harassment as “a set of unacceptable behaviors and actions based on gender or the threat of such actions, whether occasional or repeated, which result in physical, psychological, emotional, sexual, and economic harm.” It also noted that sexual harassment is a widespread

But what does “sexual misconduct” include in terms of definitions and cases? This term encompasses a set of behaviors that are based on gender and in many cases, the victim is subjected to offensive and harassing behavior and includes sexual abuse, assault, exploitation, and even curiosity for obtaining unpleasant information and any behavior based on gender that is non-consensual and imposed on the victim through threats, intimidation, humiliation, or coercion. “Sexual misconduct” should not necessarily violate civil and criminal laws in order for corrective or disciplinary actions to be taken in work environments to protect individuals who have been harmed. It also does not depend on the intention of the perpetrator to cause harm and harassment. The reason for this is that what matters is the psychological, emotional, physical, and economic harm that the individual experiences due to harassment and abuse in the workplace. Such behaviors include a wide range of physical, verbal, and written behaviors: including expressing opinions that have a sexual-gendered connotation, or jokes and jokes,

A look at the challenges ahead in the path of confrontation.

Fighting against harassment and abuse in the workplace is faced with various challenges on a global level, which will be briefly mentioned below.

1- Reports of harassment and abuse in the workplace are limited in comparison to the actual cases. Many victims prefer to remain silent and not report due to fear of retaliation, revenge, disbelief from colleagues, or the possibility of further harm.

2- An injured individual may be blamed. In many societies, especially in countries where gender inequality is prevalent, victims of harassment and abuse in the workplace and essentially all forms of gender-based violence are once again subjected to violence with incorrect judgments and blame, instead of holding the perpetrators accountable.

3- Cultural norms are another challenge. In many cultures where traditional and patriarchal beliefs hold a strong presence, harassment and abuse are normalized in work environments and addressing these issues becomes a difficult and often fruitless process.

4- There are many legal obstacles in this regard. Although nearly 140 countries have laws regarding harassment and abuse in the workplace, often the legal system is ineffective and dependent on those in power, lacking regulations, resources, or necessary mechanisms for effectively addressing cases of harassment and abuse in the workplace and holding those responsible accountable.

5- Inequalities of power are also another challenge. Perpetrators of sexual harassment and abuse in the workplace are mainly men in positions of authority – although research in recent decades has shown that men can also be victims of gender-based harassment and abuse in the workplace. Individuals in positions of power in the workplace use it to create an environment for sexual exploitation, harassment, and threats of silence to protect those in higher positions.

6- Women and social groups around the world, including racial, ethnic, immigrant and refugee minorities, people with disabilities, and gender minorities, face more complex barriers in reporting and addressing sexual harassment in the workplace. They are marginalized and pushed to the sidelines.

7- The virtual space and increasing prevalence of remote work have brought numerous challenges to the world of work and gender-based harassment and discrimination. Gender-based harassment in the online workplace has its own unique characteristics and in many cases, virtual harassment can also manifest in physical forms and impose sexual and gender-based attacks.

Dealing with these challenges requires a comprehensive, universal, and systematic approach that not only focuses on educating and raising awareness about gender-based harassment and discrimination in the workplace, but also addresses immediate cases of harassment and provides support for the victim, as well as revising and reviewing reporting processes, laws, and regulations related to gender-based harassment. It also demands attention to the workplace culture in order to prioritize the rights and equality of all individuals.

The United Nations and its affiliated organizations, especially the UN Women, the International Labour Organization, and the Human Rights Council, have not only adopted policies and guidelines to prevent harassment and abuse within their institutions and operations, and among their personnel (including peacekeeping forces), but have also launched campaigns, conferences, resolutions, and multiple conventions on the issue of harassment and abuse in the workplace and the impact of gender-based violence on job security. These efforts include effective methods to support victims, promote the development of laws and enforcement mechanisms, and take preventive measures and hold perpetrators accountable in the workplace. The United Nations has prioritized the elimination of gender-based harassment and abuse as part of its commitment to promoting gender equality, as outlined in Sustainable Development Goal 5.

In recent studies in some countries – including the United States – the number of reports related to gender-based harassment and abuse in the workplace has decreased, and the reasons for this should be examined. The number of reports has decreased from 16,130 cases in 1997 to 8,191 cases in 2021. It is debatable whether the decrease in reported cases is due to education and awareness in the private and public sectors, or as a result of movements – which gained momentum in 2017 – or a form of backlash. Some studies have pointed out that the increase in confidence among women who felt that their experiences of harassment and abuse in the workplace were solely their own and not a societal phenomenon. Additionally, cases of unwanted sexual attention and behavior in the workplace, which clearly contradict laws and areas that could hold them accountable, have decreased. However, gender-based harassment and abuse still exist in more subtle forms in work environments and there is a need for review and more effective steps towards

Gender-based harassment and discrimination in human rights organizations

In 2019, three international organizations (Open Society Justice Initiative, Due Process of Law Foundation, EQUIS Justice for Women) collaborated with the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law in Washington University to bring together a group of prominent global researchers, academics, and experts to address the issue of gender-based harassment and abuse in international human rights organizations. The goal of this initiative, two years after its inception, was to investigate and research instances of gender-based harassment within these organizations, which are considered part of civil society, as it is of utmost importance for human rights organizations to uphold respect for equality and human dignity in the workplace and ensure that no discriminatory, racial, ethnic, sexual, or gender-based behaviors are tolerated. These organizations must have stronger and more effective protocols and policies compared to other private and government institutions, and hold individuals accountable while serving as a model for organizational culture. This research showed that human rights organizations have not adequately addressed reported

The hardships of women and girls in Iran.

During the past decade, we have witnessed an increasing number of disclosures and testimonies from victims about harassment and abuse in various areas of women’s presence in different aspects of life in Iran. From stories of violence, harassment, and even the media coverage of honor killings and suspicious suicides, to physical, psychological, and verbal abuse in the private sphere of family, public spaces such as streets and markets, virtual spaces, private and public workplaces, and even some civil institutions. Today, women and girls in Iran, with more courage than before and with awareness of the cost they must pay in many cases with their lives, health, and safety, have lifted the veil of silence from their lips and share their stories and disclosures everywhere, especially in the virtual space.

In Iran, the dimensions, cases, and details of violence and discrimination against women are not clear because there has been no comprehensive research on the various types of violence and discrimination that women and girls experience in their homes, workplaces, schools, universities, streets, and markets. Addressing these violations of human rights by those in power to reduce the level of violence and empower women and girls to defend themselves and maintain their safety is very weak and receives little attention in government planning at various levels.

Given that the focus of this article is on sexual harassment and violence in the workplace, it should be noted that in addition to all the challenges, trends, and various forms of violence and harassment at a global level, there are specific cases in Iran where sexual harassment and gender-based violence face even more obstacles and challenges compared to other countries in the global South. Criminal laws in Iran do not officially recognize a crime as “sexual harassment” and the term has not even been used once in the Islamic Penal Code. In fact, there is no clear definition of sexual harassment as a crime in Iran. The term “sexual crimes” exists in the laws, but without a clear definition of the crime, its identification, and the punishments that are considered for various cases of sexual crimes in Iran.

In this regard, the law on punishments and penalties for sexual crimes reflects in two articles. According to article 619 of this law, “creating verbal harassment for women and children” in “public places and streets” is considered a crime and punishments are specified for the offender. Emphasis on “creating verbal harassment” in “public places and streets” clearly indicates that verbal harassment can only be considered a crime in “public places and streets” and not in private spaces or work environments.

Another provision that is addressed in the Law of Deterrent Punishments and Penalties is Article 637, which specifically focuses on sexual intercourse and implicitly sexual harassment. It is clear that this provision is based on religious laws and considers any illicit sexual act between a man and a woman outside of marriage as a crime, and those who commit it will be punished accordingly. This law does not specifically mention sexual harassment and assault in the workplace.

This is happening while in the majority of countries around the world, even in Western Asian and North African countries – where the majority are Muslim – there are protocols in place regarding violence and harassment against women in various areas, which although may not be effective, victims can still report cases under the law, whether in private or public spaces, or in the workplace. In Iran and a few other countries – which rank lowest on the gender gap index – victim-blaming, taboos, shaming, threats, and even other forms of harassment – which may lead to loss of life for the victim – are not uncommon, making the process of reporting cases of harassment, violence, and discrimination even more difficult. Therefore, while in the world, reporting cases of harassment, especially in the workplace, faces obstacles and concerns, in Iran, this burden is much heavier and the implementation of justice has been compromised. If a woman or girl reports harassment and violence in the workplace, schools, or universities to local authorities

The lack of proportionality between crime and punishment is also one of the problems of civil laws in Iran regarding harassment and abuse of women and girls, which is a deterrent factor for reporting. According to Article 637 of the Islamic Republic’s Penal Code, the punishment for perpetrators of harassment and abuse, if proven – through confession or written testimony of the criminal or witness – (which, of course, in many cases of sexual harassment that occurs in secret, there can be no testimony) is 99 lashes; a very severe punishment and against human dignity.

In the shadow of the lack of major research on various cases and forms of violence and harassment against women and girls in different areas, a report was published in Etemad newspaper last year that was interesting. According to the report, “out of approximately 2,500 women and girls, each woman or girl experiences verbal, physical, and visual harassment (inappropriate and offensive looks) from some men between one to twenty times during the distance they travel or the time they spend in public spaces or during any urban commute. Additionally, men who speak loudly are ten times more likely to do so than women, and the ratio of men who are the perpetrators of physical harassment is more than 15 times that of women. Approximately 85.4% of women in public places, 85.1% in administrative, commercial, and recreational places, 84.8% in transportation-related places, and 84.1% of women on the streets and sidewalks have experienced “loud speaking”. However

Furthermore, previously, Saeed Madani, a sociologist, had announced in an interview with Shargh newspaper that 1650 cases of sexual crimes occur annually in Tehran.

Due to the lack of independent civil organizations from the government, the lack of emotional and psychological support for vulnerable individuals, and the presence of damaged women and girls in work environments, schools, and universities, they carry the psychological burden with them. In the virtual space, especially on the social network X (formerly known as Twitter), significant cases of harassment and sexual abuse have been brought up in Persian, demanding accountability. Social media, especially X, in societies where protective laws are not found and there is no real political will to protect and combat harassment, abuse, and violence against women, and in fact, the government itself is one of the perpetrators of harassment, abuse, and violence against women and girls, can be a limited space for disclosure and testimonies of the victims.

Therefore, empowering women and girls in defining their own diversity can only be achieved through cultural education and courageous struggle against various forms of violence in private and public spaces, work environments, and even civil society organizations and human rights, to strengthen cases of harassment, discrimination, and violence.

Let’s split the sky and create a new design.