Unsolicited comments, suggestive looks, persistent phone calls and attempts to make bodily contact are all part of the process of sexual harassment that many Saudi women are subjected to in the workplace. Suggested reasons for it and the solutions to it are various, but for a number of personal and public factors it is women whose ability to work suffers the most, and women who have to make the difficult choices when seeking a solution. “The mixing of the sexes in my work has caused me a lot of problems, the biggest being sexual harassment whether from patients or their visitors, and on occasion from work colleagues,” says Samia, a hospital nurse. “I get men making comments, or suggestive looks, and sometimes, in the case of patients, attempts to touch me, but those are rare. I sometimes threaten to inform my bosses of such behavior, but sometimes I don't tell anyone in order to protect my reputation.” Even in segregated workplaces, the necessity to communicate with members of the opposite sex by whatever means can lead to awkward situations. “I started getting unsolicited comments over the telephone from people whom I was involved with through work, and at first I just took no notice, until I discovered that I was the only person getting such attention,” says Asmaa, a school teacher. “Then I started receiving suggestive messages on my mobile. So I got my mother to speak to the person in question, and that put an end to the matter. I'd advise anyone in a similar situation to seek the help of their families to nip it in the bud before the woman gets into something she can't get out of.” In a survey entitled “Harassment and Challenges Faced by Saudi Women Working with Men” that looked at some 1,000 Saudi women working in a wide range of fields, from medicine and education to banking and the media, 21 percent of women said they had been subjected to unsolicited forms of friendliness from their superiors, and 35 percent from work colleagues in similar, or lower, positions of seniority. Unsolicited flirtatious comments formed the greater part of the complaints, while unwanted attention developed into requests for meetings outside the workplace in 28 percent of cases. Twenty-four percent of the women said they were contacted unnecessarily late at night, and 15 percent revealed that harassment had extended to physical contact. The merest intimation of such behavior leaves women in testing circumstances. The women surveyed said that harassment led to them fearing unfair dismissal or threats to their reputations, or even fears that their families may find out about such inconveniences. They also felt that their failure to respond positively to unsolicited advances might affect their chances of earning pay-rises and promotion. Dr. Fareeda Abdul Malik, a professor from King Saud University, says that in the end, the quality of women's work is damaged. “Harassment at work affects women's competency in their work, as it creates in them a kind of social fear and fear of contact because they are unable to defend themselves, especially if the person doing the harassing is the boss,” Dr. Abdul Malik says. Blame game Fears may arise from people's suspicions and their readiness to blame the female: “The harasser is not always the sole person responsible for such behavior. Sometimes the girl also plays her part,” Dr. Abdul Malik says. “For every action there's a reaction,” she continues, “and girls who wear make-up and dress up and make an effort to display their charms are exposing themselves to the threat of harassment.” It's no wonder some women choose to make the ultimate professional sacrifice. “I was training at a television station,” says Susan, “and the nature of the work involved direct contact with my boss, and the director exploited the use of shared equipment such as cameras and production equipment to touch my hand. I expressed my disapproval of his behavior and tried to keep my distance from him, but a couple of days later when he tried to do the same thing again I decided to quit the job. It was the best decision I could make as I was still young, and no one would have believed me since I had no proof or witnesses for my accusations against the director.” In terms of how women dealt with the various forms of harassment, seven percent said they preferred to keep quiet, fearing a scandal should people find out, while eight percent said they kept quiet to stop the situation developing and prevent their families finding out, which if it happened might force them to relinquish their jobs. Twenty-four percent said they had made official complaints. Two percent, however, said they had responded positively to advances out of fear of the individual harassing them, while four percent responded to harassers' demands out of fear of losing their jobs. “Sexual harassment has a damaging effect on society,” says Dr. Hamoud Al-Shareef, a social psychologist from King Saud University. “Some families prevent their daughters from working in hospitals out of fear of exposing them to such behavior. The greatest problem is when the harassed girl responds to the desires of her harasser thinking that then he will leave her alone, but this only serves to strengthen the conviction that such behavior works.” Dr. Al-Shareef says society as a whole needs to be responsible for tackling the problem. “We need lawmakers to be involved, and courses in schools to address such behavior, as well as greater emphasis from the media. Families need to bring up their children to reject such behavior, and girls should be given courses in how to defend themselves,” he says. Eighty percent of the female company employees in the survey agreed that society needs to be made aware of what is and is not acceptable behavior, and suggested that companies could play their part by putting up notices in the workplace explaining action that would be taken should anyone engage in such activity. A safe and secure environment for women to work in, free from inconveniences, they said, would help women achieve greater success in the workplace. Law and fear Eighty-three percent of those questioned said they would like to see a law brought in to deal with harassers that would give strict penalties such as fines and even prison sentences to act as a deterrent, while a small percentage said the ideal solution would be a law that details the rules of how sexes may mix in the workplace. Only 11 percent said there should be a complete segregation of the sexes. “The harassment of women is one of the most urgent issues requiring the attention of the law today,” says lawyer and legal consultant Ali Sa'doun. “We need a law to address the problem as it has only got worse with the increased means of communication available. But the problem does not lie solely with the law, but also with women, because if they do not come forward and make complaints against those who are harassing them, and lock themselves into a cycle of fear of society, then harassers will only be spurred on.” Despite the challenges faced by Saudi women in the workplace, most women said they faced no objections to their working whatsoever from their families, and that they sought work for purposes of ambition and self-fulfillment. Some were motivated by financial reasons, and others wanted to work to “pass the time”. Some said they saw work as a social responsibility through which they would gain reward and financial independence, the latter being reinforced by the possibility of divorce.
