The Sexual Harassment of Industrial Workers: Strategies for Intervention in the Workplace and Beyond

Existing studies of industrial workers are silent on the topic of sexual harassment. At one level, this silence can be understood in relation to workers’ priorities, which revolve understandably around ‘bread and butter’ issues. However, cultural taboos associated with sexuality are also responsible for discouraging research on the subject. The knowledge-gap notwithstanding, sexual harassment constitutes a fundamental violation of labor rights, with repercussions both for worker well being and for enterprise efficiency. The present study seeks to break the silence and understand the impact of sexual harassment on women employed in industrial wage work. Given the lacuna in existing literature, the study is exploratory in nature. The aim is to open up questions for further research, as well as build on the existing information base. As such, a major objective is to go beyond statistics and fill gaps in knowledge by tapping into the everyday experiences of women workers.