The Concept of Sexual Harassment and Mechanisms to Counter it in the Labor Law of Russia

Abstract

The article is devoted to the definition of the concept of “sexual harassment” and the evaluation of mechanisms to counter this phenomenon in labor relations. The need for these mechanisms is due to the fact that in labor relations, their very infrastructure is inherently conducive to harassment, as the victim is usually in the service and (or) “space-time” dependence on the offender. Service dependence is due either to the direct administrative subordination of the victim to the source of the harassment, or to the fact that it can affect her career and other benefits associated with the work. The “spacetime” dependence is due to the fact that the victim cannot effectively avoid contact with the source of the harassment by changing his or her location or time in a particular place, because of his or her job responsibilities, he or she must be in a particular place at a particular time. It is considered definitions of harassment behavior and proposes four types of possible forms of harassment: assault, coercion, use and demonstration, considers the generalized practice of the United States on the qualification of behavior as a harassment and analyzes the norms of Russian law in terms of the availability of adequate means to counter this threat. It is established that the current criminal, civil, administrative and labour legislation now does not contain effective methods of protection against most forms of harassment. The author suggests regulatory incentives for more active involvement of the employer in countering harassment within the framework of labor relations (for example, the possibility of removal of the offender from work, transfer him to another job, dismissal for harassment as a gross disciplinary offense) and regulatory mechanisms for protecting the victim of harassment by means of labor law: the employer's obligation to provide leave at the request of the victim, transfer it to another available job; the right not to be employed if the employer fails to take measures to protect the victim from harassment, while maintaining the average earnings during the absence.