In the third millennia, our societies still suffer from issues like sexual harassment. Mostly women, and also some men, are subject to physical and verbal molestation. It is time to stand up against such unhealthy behavioral trends as well as have an adequate legal framework to prevent and handle such situations. Unfortunately, in Lebanon and many other societies, a lot of people still think, well if she didn’t try to seduce him, he wouldn’t have grabbed her or told her anything. I do have some questions here.. and what if she didn’t try to seduce him and he did harass her, like in the case of my friend? What then? What if what happened, such as in the case of my friend, was that she repeatedly told that man who she had hired to teach her how to ski, please don’t touch me, you can show me the ski moves without touching me and he kept doing it because he thought of this as a way to get her to “relax”?

In a culture where no is often used as a delayed yes and direct speech is very rare, it can get very tricky to differentiate what is said from what is meant. Granted. Yet, in no dictionary whatsoever does not mean yes or vice versa. And it is certainly important to teach kids that each word has its meaning and that no means no and yes means yes. It gets trickier in cultures where saying no is deemed “impolite” and it is preferred to reply with a yes and then explain that you don’t agree or didn’t do x, y, or z.  But let’s not meander. So how is sexual harassment to be defined? Because to know what limits there are, explicit boundaries have to be set.

Let's start by agreeing that sexual harassment, which can affect both men and women, can be performed either verbally or physically. And preventing it starts by defining it broadly, giving examples that might not come straight to one's mind. Unfortunately, in the absence of laws condemning and punishing sexual harassment in Lebanon, a lot of the victims don't dare to speak out nor say that the words or behavior are abusive to them. And how do you expect the victim to report an incident when they are afraid of being shunned and not taken seriously and more importantly to be helped to overcome this emotional and physical burden? Some people will confront their aggressor or even file a complaint and hence will not be "attacked" / engaged in such out-of-line behavior any further. Most won't...

So first, educate people, young and old, about this issue. Children at school, and home, can be taught to be assertive. Parents can be involved and informed more in-depth about the harmful effects of sexual harassment and how to address it with their kids. Everyone should be aware that inappropriate/unwanted sexual or sex-discriminatory behavior/words can happen from a person of the same sex and outside the workplace. Sometimes it can come from friends, partners, or even parents/relatives. It is thus crucial to insist on being respected. This can be reached by telling the person to stop doing/saying what crossed the line or simply by avoiding places where one would be alone with that person. Beware that sexual harassment is not only when someone touches another person inappropriately or without their consent. It can also be an unwanted joke, gesture, offensive words on clothing, or an unwelcome comment of sexual nature.

Second, let's work harder on the legislative framework that is supposed to protect the victims. We are on the verge of a new decade and it is not admissible that some countries still do not acknowledge sexual harassment as an offense and provide no support. Companies need to publish clear guidelines defining sexual harassment and how to proceed in the case of such allegations. Of course, investigating the issue is the first step. What happens when it is found out that sexual harassment did take place? Managers and supervisors need to be aware that sometimes accusations are false and claims need to be thoroughly investigated before any disciplinary action is undertaken. Things are being stirred in Lebanon in the past years and initiatives such as #mesh-basita have seen the light and aim at getting the drafted laws that criminalize sexual harassment to be voted by parliament. Let's see how soon this legislative reform can be implemented...