The role of law and moral in establishing countermeasures against sexual harassment

Abstract

Since sexual harassment is prevalent amongst women and becoming common amongst the middle school children, there is more demand for legal action. Surveys conducted by non-profit organizations show a high level of victimization, but there are often cases of constant concealment, silence about such facts of offenses. This article aims to discuss the role of law and morale in dealing with sexual harassment. On the one hand, it discusses the nature of legal definition of harassment and the difficulty in proving the act due to the presence of a subjective component. Inability to enforce the law will turn it merely into a symbolic measure. On the other hand, lack of law enforcement does not mean that the norm on sexual harassment will not have a deterrent effect. The existence of a legal norm will avert the crime, yet it will be difficult to measure the number of prevented offences. Equally important is to highlight that sexual violence is common place amongst the middle school children across the globe and gaining visibility in Kazakhstan. For that reason, the article discusses advantages and limitations of various interventions that aim to prevent sexual harassment in schools. With many interventions being of single program character, authors recommend systematic strategies that tackle harassment on the individual, family, and community level.