The perceptions of employees regarding sexual harassment in an administrative higher educational work environment

M.B.A.Although all types of harassment are prohibited by the Employment Equity Act, sexual harassment in particular is still rife in the workplace. Research not only shows that the problem is common and widespread but that many companies do not have sexual harassment policies in place. Although sexual harassment as a labour related issue is a relatively new concept in South-Africa, we are one of the few countries worldwide to make a progressive contribution against sexual harassment by prohibiting sexual harassment directly through legislation. The goal of this research was to determine the perceptions of administrative employees regarding sexual harassment at the University of Johannesburg to provide a more comprehensive picture of employee perceptions, the occurrence of sexual harassment and awareness of administrative staff of sexual harassment policies at the University of Johannesburg. From the results it was clear that although employees had a good understanding of the definition of sexual harassment, a clear gap existed in knowledge regarding the University of Johannesburg sexual harassment policy. It was therefore recommended that an extended sexual harassment awareness campaign be introduced at the University of Johannesburg