Abstract
The aim of this paper is to explore how silence, secrecy and censorship related to sexual harassment are fragmented through dialogue and information sharing among social networks, leading to different types of social support given and received. In-depth interviews with 40 respondents and focus group discussions with four groups were carried out under the qualitative research approach. The theory of social support was employed as the theoretical basis of the study. The findings indicated that through dialogue and information sharing related to sexual harassment within social networks of friends, family, co-workers and sometimes superiors, women gain and give emotional, informational, instrumental and appraisal support, emphasizing the many instances when the issue becomes open, non-privatized, and social. Stemming from these findings, implications for managers in terms of using social support as a means of dealing with sexual harassment in organizations are discussed.
Highlights
Even after decades of intensive research, rigorous public debate and extensive interventions, sexual harassment continues to persist at workplaces
In-depth interviews and focus group discussions provided ample evidence to show that even though generally sexual harassment is treated with secrecy and silence, women do talk about sexual harassment in public, in terms of their own experiences and experiences of others as well as about other aspects of sexual harassment such as possible perpetrators
Contrary to prior findings that the most common response to sexual harassment is ignorance and silence, the respondents of the study indicated numerous instances that they do engage in other assertive forms of reaction by seeking support and aid from social networks
Summary
Even after decades of intensive research, rigorous public debate and extensive interventions, sexual harassment continues to persist at workplaces. Unwelcome sexual advances by words or actions used by a person in authority in a work place, or any other place, shall constitute the offence of sexual harassment In addition to these legal interventions at a macro level, companies and various other institutions such as women’s organizations too have taken various steps including introduction of guidelines, policies and procedures to address the issue. Lack of support leads to silence, and to other negative consequences such as suicide (Wijayatilake & Zachariya 2000) In this backdrop, I attempt to explore how this silence is broken by women at workplaces in instances of sexual harassment, and how they employ social networks to gain and give social support. I turn to the theory of social support, using it as the theoretical basis for understanding this intricate phenomenon
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