期刊名称：AGORA International Journal of Juridical Sciences
印刷版ISSN：1843-570X
电子版ISSN：2067-7677
出版年度：2011
卷号：2011
期号：2
出版社：AGORA University Publishing House
摘要：AbstractThere has been a disturbing rise in sexual harassment claims in recent years that have been facilitated by the ubiquitous availability of digital communication devices. Such harassment occurs through unprovoked and offensive e-mails, messages posted on electronic bulletin boards, and other means available through the Internet. To date, courts have remained silent on this issue. Should this type of harassment be treated any differently from physical harassment? The somewhat surprising answer is yes.This article suggests a new judicial framework for addressing sexual harassment perpetrated through digital communications. This framework accounts for both the real-world technology in place in the digital workplace and the legal framework that courts have constructed in connection with affirmative defenses to harassment. The fundamental difference between digital and physical sexual harassment is the employer's ability to monitor and block offensive digital communications and thus prevent sexual harassment; this possibility of prevention is the underlying reason for treating the two forms of harassment differently and for modifying the existing affirmative defense.This article proposes that when an employer fails to use available technology to prevent known digital sexual harassment issues, the affirmative defense should be either modified or altogether unavailable. The adoption of this approach would compel employers to deploy blocking and monitoring technology as a preventative means designed to eliminate digital harassment in the workplace.
关键词：Key words: sexual harassment, workplace, defense, employers
