Theories Of Aggression And Strategies To Reduce Sexual Harassment

Understanding Aggression and Its Impact on Human Behaviour

Society is consists of different people with a different psychology. While some people never raise their voices, there are people who are violent and get aggressive. Aggression is involved in hurting people or other forms (South Richardson, 2014). People may initiate violent actions while becoming or when they become aggressive. It is important to understand the reason that makes people aggressive and the factors that impact an individual’s aggression. The paper aims to discuss the theories of aggression with the help of a case that has been discussed in Forbes. The paper analyses the ways aggression can influence human behaviour. Also, the paper discusses the theories of aggression by applying it to the local Singapore context by proposing three institutional or community strategies to reduce sexual harassment.

According to Salin and Hoel (2013), today, it is not surprising to find three out of five women discussing sexual harassment in the workplace. Sexual harassment can be considered to be any form of unwelcomed sexual behaviour that is commonly offensive, humiliating and intimidating. Surveys over the years have manifested that a vast majority of sexual harassment culprits are men and the majority of the victims are women. The pattern has become normalized however the main concern that is bothersome is why do men sexually harass women? In the year, 2012 the federal court jurors made a decision on Ani Chopourian, a cardiac surgery physician. She was sexually harassed in her workplace with sexually offensive comments and behaviours. In the end, the jurors reached the conclusion where she was awarded $168 million, the largest judgment for a single victim who was harassed in her workplace in the history of the United States. With several sexual harassment cases as such, it becomes significant to understand the reason that makes men harass women (Forbes, 2018).

Aggression can be of various forms including physical, verbal, mental and emotional. Aggression is a form of emotion that is used by a human being for several purposes. The purposes that aggression can serve for humans are to express anger, assert dominance and express possession. Serving as a way to intimidate, threaten or achieve a goal has been aggression’s role often. It is also used as a response to fear, reaction to pain and to compete with others. In the specific case discussed above, sexual harassment is a way of expressing aggression that is underlined with several reasons. It is important to mention, that not every man are sexual harassers. Yet, it is mostly men who harass women (Jaradat et al., 2016).

Aggression and Sexual Harassment: Exploring the Link

According to Frith (2013), the concept of social power and sexuality are linked schematically in the mind of men who are likely to sexually harass women. The concept of ‘sexuality’ is usually associated with the concept of ‘dominance’ for these men. Therefore, it becomes hard for these men to accept a woman who is better at work which to them seems dominant. It is also important to mention that psychologically sexual harassment possibly involve a fusion of ideas regarding power and sexuality. Therefore, the victim of sexual harassment may perceive such behaviour as a result of exploited power. However, from the harasser’s perspective, the quest for power and the need for social dominance can be inextricably intertwined with his sexuality. Thus, it would be incorrect to say that there is no relationship between sexual harassment and sexuality that mostly involves harasser’s point of view. According to Linz, Heavey and Malamuth (2013), sexual harassment is caused by various aggression factors that men have against women. There are multiple factors that create motivation for the act. However, it is found that it is mostly cognitive in nature that connects a link between social dominance and sexuality. The behaviour is guided by both personal as well as situational factors.

The aggression of the surgeons can be explained through biological factors, environmental factors and physical factors. According to the biological explanation of aggression, men are more likely to engage in physical aggression than women. Men are more into physical aggression which is the reason, sexual harassment is often found as the result of sexual aggression. Environmental factors are other major causes that play a vital role in causing sexual harassment. The way an individual is raised or socialised has a significance since people grow up witnessing its environment. For a child who has witnessed the behaviour of sexual aggression will certainly feel it as behaviours that are socially accepted. Physical factors can also cause a tendency of causing sexual harassment in men and surgeons. People suffering from mental health disorder may have slight chances of causing the same in the workplace. According to Myers (2016), aggression is also a result of frustration which is indirectly connected to anger, external stimuli and aggressive habits. It is often linked to mental disorder. Women generally cope with anger however it is not same for men. Therefore, as a result of frustration, the sexual harassment is a possible outcome. Social behaviours  can be explained as behaviours  between two organism of same species. Aggression is a significant social behaviours however it is mostly with negative impact. For example the sexual harassment is an outcome of negative social behaviours.  However, the scale of the mental health issue will not be severe but only to the most insignificant scale.

Singapore has been one of the safest nations comparatively. However, it is surprising that with the growing number of cases worldwide, Singapore is not spared as well. The #MeToo movement began, several stories came up that showed the ways women experienced sexual harassment (Nanditha et al., 2016). Although Singapore has a law of sexual harassment that cannot be compared with any other countries, it is always better to take preventative measures than to take action for the culprit. Considering Singapore workplace, the three strategies that can be taken by Singapore are as follows:

•    Enlisting ‘witnesses’ to report or to handle: companies need to encourage their employees to speak up when they are faced with issues related to sexual harassment. Also, there are times when many people are aware of the harassment however do not raise their voice. It is important that employees feel secure in their company. Encouraging a healthy workplace atmosphere will require the participation of every employee (Schultz, 2018). It is not an aspect of one person or only the victim. Therefore, the victim is required to be supported when there are any witnesses.
•    Placing women in powerful positions: placing women in a powerful position is a bold move in the workplace. As discussed above, sexual harassment is deeply connected to power and dominance. It is vital to change the dynamic where men hold a powerful position. It becomes easier to when power is possessed by the harasser as it can be used to protect themselves. Ensuring there are sufficient numbers of both the gender will make the situation a place that is under control.
•    Providing sexual harassment training: Sexual harassment training will involve simple policy changes. Including meeting on sexual harassment and better workplace can go a long way. Companies need to provide employees with extensive training regarding constitutes sexual harassment. It requires to go through a good checklist where the criteria of a sexual harassment-free workplace. It will need to be beyond HR policies. Also, it would not be an aspect of getting highlighted only in the meeting. Employees are required to understand the causes and consequences of sexual harassment. Singapore does not deny the term ‘sexual harassment’ legally. It involves a range of criminal sanctions, civil and self-help remedies that help people from sexual harassment as well as anti-social behaviour. POHA helps women in Singapore to feel secure and safe. As discussed above, people may initiate violent actions while becoming or when they become aggressive. It is important to understand the reason that makes people aggressive and the factors that impact an individual’s aggression. The sexual harassment has been understood from the theory of aggression. In the end it can be associated with sexuality and dominance.

References

Forbes (11 April 2018). Sexual harassment: What employers should do about #metoo. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/hbsworkingknowledge/2018/04/11/sexualharassment-what-employers-should-do-about-metoo/#70e3a9512acb

Frith, H. (2013). Sexual scripts, sexual refusals and rape. In Rape (pp. 122-145). Willan.

Jaradat, Y., Nielsen, M. B., Kristensen, P., Nijem, K., Bjertness, E., Stigum, H., & Bast-Pettersen, R. (2016). Workplace aggression, psychological distress, and job satisfaction among Palestinian nurses: A cross-sectional study. Applied Nursing Research, 32, 190-198.

Linz, D., Heavey, C. L., & Malamuth, N. M. (2013). Predicting men’s antisocial behaviours  against women: The interaction model of sexual aggression. In Sexual aggression (pp. 83-118). Taylor & Francis.

Myers, D.G. (2016). Social psychology (12th Edition). New York: McGraw-Hill

Nanditha, A., Ma, R. C., Ramachandran, A., Snehalatha, C., Chan, J. C., Chia, K. S., … & Zimmet, P. Z. (2016). Diabetes in Asia and the Pacific: implications for the global epidemic. Diabetes care, 39(3), 472-485.

Salin, D., & Hoel, H. (2013). Workplace bullying as a gendered phenomenon. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 28(3), 235-251.

Schultz, V. (2018). Telling Stories About Women and Work: Judicial Interpretations of Sex Segregation in the Workplace in Title VII Cases Raising the Lack of Interest Argument [1990]. In Feminist legal theory (pp. 124-155). Routledge.

South Richardson, D. (2014). Everyday aggression takes many forms. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23(3), 220-224.