Legal relationships in sexual harassment under Maltese employment law

Abstract

Sexual harassment as a concept developed in the United States of America in the 1970's. Legal developments in Malta started after the year 2000, however in these few years, great developments have taken place. Even though it is a household term, and the concept is understood by most people, it is still prevalent in practically every workplace. If one were to read materials relating to the subject, and think about behaviour present at his or her workplace, one would immediately realise how often incidents tantamount to sexual harassment take place and how we often tolerate behaviour that is classified as sexual harassment. The thesis starts out by shedding light on the concept of sexual harassment, following which it will be possible to treat the different relations possible in sexual harassment in the workplace environment. The third chapter sheds light on the possible relations themselves, by referring to research and the treatment of different relations by different entities. Chapter four explains the different means of redress available to persons who feel that they are victims of sexual harassment. This is particularly important as this is the way in which sexual harassment is to be treated when it arises and should be the motivation to reduce the number of these incidents. Chapter five sets out the different entities that can act in a case of sexual harassment. This demonstrates the different entities available to combat this phenomenon, depending on the circumstances in which a case arises.