Strict EU law on sexual harassment
The European Union has approved legislation that will provide workers with greater protection from sexual harassment, a problem that 60 percent of Greek women say they have encountered personally. Among the principles of the law, which was approved late on Wednesday, is that employers will now have to prove that they took all possible preventive measures against sexual harassment. On average in the EU, 40-50 percent of women and 10 percent of men have claimed to be the victims of sexual harassment at work at least once in their careers. These figures range from 34 percent of women in France to 84 percent for women in Spain. The amended EU directive is to come into effect in 2005. It is the first time that sexual harassment is recognized across the EU as illegal. There will be no ceiling on financial liability for misconduct. «Now sexual harassment, absent from most national laws today, will finally have a name,» Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou said. In 2000, she revealed that she too had fallen victim to sexual harassment when at the start of her career. Under the directive, harassment is «any form of unwanted… conduct of a sexual nature with the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of a person, in particular when creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.» Diamantopoulou told Reuters that the law placed new responsibilities on governments, businesses and unions, which in future would hae to be more active in their efforts to counter sexual harassment. Measures included establishing a code of conduct and providing special advisers or training.
