Anti-sexual harrasment

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The Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995 was enacted "primarily to protect and respect the dignity of workers, employees, and applicants for employment as well as students in educational institutions or training centers. This law, consisting of ten sections, provides for a clear definition of work, education or training-related sexual harassment and specifies the acts constituting sexual harassment. It likewise provides for the duties and liabilities of the employer in cases of sexual harassment, and sets penalties for violations of its provisions. It is to be noted that a victim of sexual harassment is not barred from filing a separate and independent action for damages and other relief aside from filing the charge for sexual harassment." RA 7877 states that “work, education or training-related sexual harassment is committed by an employer, employee, manager, supervisor, agent of the employer, teacher, instructor, professor, coach, trainor, or any other person who, having authority, influence or moral ascendancy over another in a work or training or education environment, demands, requests or otherwise requires any sexual favor from the other, regardless of whether the demand, request or requirement for submission is accepted by the object of said act. It must be emphasized that the demand of a sexual favor need not be explicit or stated. Although it is true that RA 7877 calls for a ‘demand, request or requirement of a sexual favor, it is not necessary that the demand, request, or requirement of a sexual favor be articulated in a categorical oral or written statement. Sexual harassment, in many instances that we consider normal, essentially means making someone else feel intimidated or disrespected because of their gender — and this applies to men, women, homosexuals, bisexuals, and whatever other classifications there could possibly be. But most effective weapon against sexual harassment is prevention. Harassment does not disappear on its own. In fact, it is more likely that when the problem is not addressed, the harassment will worsen and become more difficult to remedy as time goes on.