The Use of Religious, Management, and Restorative Justice Models to Address Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Abstract

Sexual harassment in the workplace continues to produce organizational, financial, and human costs. For survivors, the investigative process may be adversarial, often leaving the individual without a full sense of recovery. Organizations may not provide survivors with the ability to verbalize their feelings or seek closure by directly addressing the offender. In addition, the perpetrator may not have the opportunity to listen to the survivor or share their remorse for their actions. What if after the organization’s investigation and the legal process were completed, both the survivor and the perpetrator engaged in a process that may lead to some healing and rehabilitation for the offender? This paper explores concepts found in various religious traditions, management concepts and restorative justice to offer such a process organizations may wish to consider. We propose a framework that extends beyond the tools in our human relations and legal system to offer survivors and offenders of workplace sexual harassment a possible path for healing, and perhaps, rehabilitation.