Mouvement pour l'Égalité entre les Femmes et les Hommes
Sexism at work : inseparable from harassment at work ?
Concepts
The term “discrimination against women” covers any distinction, exclusion or restriction based on sex which has the effect or purpose of compromising or destroying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, whatever or their marital status, on the basis of the equality of men and women, human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural and civil fields or in any other field. (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, United Nations, December 1979, Article 1).
The term “gender” refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities and attributions that a given society considers appropriate for women and men (Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Gender violence against women and domestic violence, Istanbul, 11.V.2011, 3c).
Any act, gesture, visual representation, oral or written statement, practice or behavior based on the idea that a person or group of people is inferior because of their sex, committed in the public or private sphere, online or offline. line, with the object or effect:
i. to violate the dignity or inherent rights of a person or group of people; Or
ii. cause harm or suffering of a physical, sexual, psychological or socio-economic nature to a person or group of people; Or
iii. to create an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment; Or
iv. to obstruct the emancipation and full realization of the human rights of a person or group of people; Or
v. maintain and reinforce gender stereotypes
Any gesture or behavior which […] clearly has the aim of expressing contempt for a person, because of their sexual affiliation, or of considering them, for the same reason, as inferior or as reduced essentially to its sexual dimension and which causes a serious attack on its dignity. (Law of August 3, 2014 to combat sexism in the public space and amending the law of May 10, 2007, Moniteur Belge 24-07-2014, Article 2).
Manterrupting is the systematic interruption of women’s speech.
Bropropriating is the act of appropriating the idea expressed by a woman.
Mansplain (verb, informal, from English, less common in French ‘mecsplication’): (said of a man) to explain something to a woman in a condescending, paternalistic, presumptuous, excessively simplified manner, or which implies that the interlocutor has no knowledge in the field. (CM/Rec(2019)1 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to member States on preventing and combating sexism, Council of Europe, April 2019, p.16).
Gender-based violence is a form of discrimination that seriously inhibits women’s ability to enjoy rights and freedoms on a basis of equality with men. (General Recommendation No. 19 (llth session, 1992. Violence against women, United Nations)
The term “gender-based violence and harassment” means violence and harassment directed against a person because of his or her sex or gender or having a disproportionate effect on persons of a particular sex or gender, and includes sexual harassment. (Convention 190, Convention concerning the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the Workplace, International Labour Organization, 2019)
« Violence against women » is understood as a violation of human rights and a form of discrimination against women and shall mean all acts of gender‐based violence that result in, or are likely to result in, physical, sexual, psychological or economic harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life; (Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, 11.V.2011, 3a)
The term “gender-based violence against women” refers to any violence against a woman because she is a woman or affecting women disproportionately. (Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, Istanbul, 11.V.2011, Article 3d)
Manifestations of sexism at work are multifaceted. They can take the form of sexist comments and behavior towards an employee or a group of employees. Sexism in the workplace includes, but is not limited to, derogatory comments, objectification, sexist humor or jokes, overly familiar remarks, silencing or ignoring people, gratuitous comments about dress, and physical appearance, sexist body language, lack of respect and male practices of intimidation or exclusion of women and co-optation of men. (Action kit to act against sexism – Three tools for the world of work, Higher Council for professional equality between women and men, France, 2016).
“Discrimination at work may be compounded by physical or psychological violence, which may be gender-based.” (European Insitute for Gender Equality (EIGE))
Sexism and sexual harassment are part of the general definition of workplace discrimination. These forms of violence when they occur in a work environment are considered by labor and well-being at work legislation as discrimination and as psychosocial risks (PSR) at work.
The term “violence and harassment” in the world of work refers to a pattern of unacceptable conduct and practices, or threats of such conduct and practices, whether occurring on a single occasion or repeatedly, that are intended to cause, do cause or are likely to cause physical, psychological, sexual or economic harm, and includes gender-based violence and harassment.
(Convention 190, Convention concerning the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the Workplace, International Labour Organization, 2019).
Bullying at work: Repeated abusive conduct of any origin, external or internal to the company or institution, manifested in particular by unilateral behaviour, words, intimidation, acts, gestures and writings, the purpose or effect of which is to harm the dignity or physical or psychological integrity of a worker or another person to whom this chapter applies, during the performance of his or her work, to jeopardise his or her employment or to create an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment. (Law of 11 June 2002 on protection against violence and moral or sexual harassment at work, Moniteur belge, 22-06-2002, Article 32ter, §2)
Sexual harassment at work: any form of verbal, non-verbal or corporal behaviour of a sexual nature, which the perpetrator knows or should know affects the dignity of women and men in the workplace. (Law of 11 June 2002 on protection against violence and moral or sexual harassment at work, Moniteur belge, 22-06-2002, Article 32ter, §3)
The situation in which unwanted behavior of a sexual nature, expressed physically, verbally or non-verbally, occurs with the aim or effect of violating the dignity of a person and, in particular, of creating an intimidating environment, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive. Under the Istanbul Convention, Parties are required to criminalize sexual harassment or make it subject to other legal sanctions. (Cfr. Article 40 of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, Istanbul, 11.V.2011).
Sexual assault can be defined as any sexual assault committed with violence, coercion, threat or surprise. Examples include kissing on the neck, kissing by surprise, touching the breasts, thighs, buttocks, lower abdomen, etc.
In Belgium, the law distinguishes between several types of sexual assault, including indecent assault and rape.
For indecent assault, the law means that it involves forced kisses, hands on the buttocks, rubbing, if the victim is forced to undress for a photo to be taken, etc.
Rape is any penetration, whether vaginal, anal or oral, by means of a part of the perpetrator’s body or an object, without the consent of the person.
Feminicide is the murder of a woman because she is a woman.
