"Limitations of Republic Act No. 7877: The need to expand the definitio" by Paul Tristan Almocera Garcia

Limitations of Republic Act No. 7877: The need to expand the definition of sexual harassment

Date of Publication

5-2016

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Juris Doctor

Subject Categories

Human Rights Law

College

College of Law

Department/Unit

Law

Thesis Adviser

Rosario O. Gallo

Abstract/Summary

The passing of Republic Act No. 7877 is a step in the right direction when it comes to addressing the issue of sexual harassment. However, upon reading the provisions of the said law, one can see that the law is limited in its scope. Since the current law on anti-sexual harassment only focuses on the offence being committed in the workplace, or the education and training environments, and emphasises on the elements of ascendancy of the superior-subordinate relationship, one may question as to what would happen if the offence of sexual harassment were to be committed outside of those places that were mentioned (as in public places). Another question that may be raised is that what if a colleague or a stranger were to commit the offence. With these questions raised that highlight the limitations of the current anti-sexual harassment law, it is the aim of this research to expand the current definition of sexual harassment so as to include instances wherein the offence is committed in public places. Although the aim of this research is to expand the current definition of sexual harassment, there are some authors who are of the belief that giving a concrete legal definition on sexual harassment will be difficult considering the fact that there have been a wide range of acts that that have been identified as sexual harassment, such as leering, wolf-whistling, groping, sexual invitations, sexual comments, telling 'dirty' jokes, displaying sexually explicit pictures, and at the extreme, rape. To further emphasise on their assertion, they state that it is difficult to give a definite legal definition for such offence since what may be considered as sexual harassment for some may not be considered as such for others. Despite the argument that providing for a legal definition of sexual harassment will be difficult, it is important to highlight the “reasonable woman” test, as introduced in the U.S. case of Ellison v. Brady, in aiding the courts in analysing and ruling on sexual harassment cases. The “reasonable woman” test provides that courts, when it comes to ruling on sexual harassment cases, must consider the circumstances from the victim's perspective in evaluating the severity and pervasiveness of the harassment. The research also found that based on the survey that was conducted, the perceptions of men and women when it comes to sexual harassment differ from one another. For

Abstract Format

html

Language

English

Format

Electronic

Accession Number

CDTG006855; TG06855

Shelf Location

Archives, The Learning Common's, 12F Henry Sy Sr. Hall

Physical Description

1 computer optical disc; 4 3/4 in.

Keywords

Sexual harassment—Law and legislation--Philippines

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Embargo Period

10-11-2024

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