GC: n

S: UN – http://www.un.org/womenwatch/osagi/pdf/whatissh.pdf (last access: 10 July 2016); https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/sexual_harassment.cfm (last access: 10 July 2016).

N: 1. sexual (adj): 1650s, “of or pertaining to the fact of being male or female,” from Late Latin sexualis “relating to sex,” from Latin sexus. Meaning “pertaining to copulation or generation” is from 1766; sexual intercourse attested by 1771; sexual orientation by 1967; sexual harassment by 1975. Sexual revolution attested by 1962. Sexual politics is from 1970. Related: Sexually.
harassment (n): 1753, from verb harass (1610s, “to lay waste, devastate”; 1620s, “to vex by repeated attacks,” from French harasser “tire out, vex” from 16c.)+ -ment (suffix forming nouns, originally from French and representing Latin -mentum, which was added to verb stems sometimes to represent the result or product of the action).
2. Sexual harassment, Unsolicited verbal or physical behaviour of a sexual nature. Sexual harassment may embrace any sexually motivated behaviour considered offensive by the recipient. Legal recourse is available in cases that occur in the workplace, though it is very difficult to obtain convictions. In 1994 the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that behaviour can be considered sexual harassment and an abridgment of an individual’s civil rights if it creates a hostile and abusive working environment.
3. The term sexual harassment refers to unsolicited verbal or physical behavior of a sexual nature. Sexual harassment can take many forms, including requests for sexual favors, unwelcome sexual advances or other unwelcome verbal, physical, or visual conduct of a sexual nature made, either explicitly or implicitly, as a term or condition of any individual’s employment, as a basis for employment decisions affecting the individual, or in a manner that creates an intimidating or offensive working environment. In the United States, laws dealing with sexual harassment are based on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which forbids discrimination in employment on the basis of sex, race, religion, or national origin. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which was created by the act, issued rules in the 1980s stating that an employer must provide a workplace free from sexual harassment or intimidation. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld this rule in 1986 when it held in Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson that sexual harassment creating a hostile or abusive work environment, even without economic loss for the person being harassed, was in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Employees who have been subjected to sexual harassment can file suit in civil court against employers and ask for monetary damages from them.

S: 1. OED – http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=Sexual+harassment (last access: 10 July 2016). 2. EncBrit – https://global.britannica.com/topic/sexual-harassment (last access: 10 July 2016). 3. EncBrit – http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/article-9313488/sexual-harassment (last access: 10 July 2016).

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CR: mobbing