Sexual Harassment Class Blog

Carl R. Greene was accused of sexual harassment in the past year and is using threats of legal action to try and keep a victim from testifying in a current defamation case. Greene’s sexual harassment case was settled and since then he has been in a character defamation lawsuit with the Philadelphia Housing Authority in Pennsylvania.

A U.S. District Judge Ronald Buckwalter determined that the accusations of sexual harassment were allowable in the defamation case. The judge’s declaration allows the testimony of one of the women Greene was accused of sexually harassing, Carolyn Griffith. Greene was fired from being the PHA's executive director after 13 years due to the sexual harassment case that ensued.

Greene was also fired for arranging secret and huge payments to three different women whom he was accused of sexually harassing. One of those women was, of course, Carolyn Griffith, who was working as the Manager of Finance for the Philadelphia's Housing Authority. Many have wondered if she helped Greene cover up any company money, in order to make those secret payments possible.

The sexual harassment case Greene was involved in settled out of court for another $1.1 million, paid by the PHA and to be split between the women evenly. Greene's attorney, Clifford Haines, tried to keep Griffith's testimony from being covered by the public press but met opposition from the judge himself. Judge Buckwalter would not allow a secret testimony, making her coming testimony totally public and fully admissible.

Haines has been doing his best to keep this defamation case from reaching the public news, he wants only court witnesses to know what is being said outside of written and filed documents. Even Haines himself is being tight-lipped about the court proceedings. When Haines was asked about the Judge's ruling to allow Griffith's testimony, he refused comment and said he wouldn't discuss anything about the judge's ruling. The PHA defending lawyers in the defamation case has also refused to comment on the defamation suit.

Greene has even gone as far as to make threats take legal actions against Griffith if she testifies during the defamation case, but the Judge's order has made that threat nonexistent. None-the-less, Griffith didn't show up at her scheduled deposition time. Her lawyer advised her to testify, but Greene's threats seem to have worked to his advantage, at least for the time being.

Haines, Greene's attorney, has claimed that the PHA only wants to use her testimony to vilify and incriminate his client with unfairly biased information. Skewing the case that he’s building against the PHA. Judge Buckwalter denied the claim and is allowing her testimony, if she decides to give it.

Greene is currently living in Decatur, GA. and the old board of directors for the PHA has dissolved. The U.S. government now controls the company and all they do. Since the government does control the company now, if Greene were to win the defamation case, some are wondering where the government will come up with awarded monies, from private or public pockets. 

Source: philly.com

Even though there has been very little news coverage on Rep. Hastings sexual harassment case, the suit is moving forward due to the D.C. courts ruling the case under Bivens. Bivens is a route for citizens to seek monetary damages for Constitutional civil rights violations by the government or it’s representatives. This ruling will make the only defendants of the case the U.S. Commission on Security in Europe.

Winsome Packer filed the sexual harassment complaint, claiming that Rep. Hastings gave her unwanted sexual touching, and other advances. She is also claiming that Hastings retaliated against her once the complaint was made. The D.C. courts instituted the Bivens act on February 14, Valentines Day.

A powerful and feared public interest group has stepped in on behalf of Winsome Packer, responded to the courts Bivens movement by saying that the congressman is no less guilty of the crime even though his name his no longer on the defendant nameplate. The group went on to say that they are sure this is just a procedure to see in which direction their case will be heard. They are positive that when the evidence is released, Rep. Hastings will be served with the full strength of the justice system.

Ms. Packer is claiming that over a two-year period, Rep. Hastings sexually harassed her with unwelcome advances and sexually touches. She is also claiming in the lawsuit that the Helsinki Commission Director helped Hastings retaliate against her when she rejected the Congressman's advances.

The Congressional ethics committee gives this some credibility by admitting that there is good reason to believe Rep. Hastings was committing a crime and violating Mrs. Packer’s civil rights. Hastings has grown accustomed to scandal in his office, so this may not be something that worries him too much.

President Carter appointed Hastings as Florida's first black American Judge. He served that position until 1989, when a flurry of allegations involving a judge's two cardinal sins, perjury and bribery. President Carter, and the rest of the Democrat controlled Congress, agreed to evict Hastings from his seat as judge.

Hastings said the proceedings against him were bound with racism, but another black American, Rep. John Conyers-D, and a founding member of the CBC, disagreed with the racism comment. He said he couldn't see nor find any a of racism in the Congressionally charged allegations against him.

The US Congress claimed Hastings accepted a $150,000 bribe to give a lenient sentence and then lied about it the incident when asked. This led to the eventual impeachment of Hastings as a Judge of any kind. The Congress had the option right there to rule that he never serves in a public office again, but they didn't.

Hastings ran for Congress and won, leading the government to the situation he is in now. The Judicial Watch has agreed that, given his past and current evidence against him, he has committed conduct unbecoming of a Congressman, violating house rules and Constitutional laws that he swore to honor and protect. 

Source: www.examiner.com

Imagine your younger sister of age 10 returns from school with a squeezed face! On trying to interrogate her, you found out that she was sexually harassed by her class mate! How would you have felt? You would go wild? However, this is the piteous situation many teenagers, nay, minors find themselves today. The frequent reports of sexual harassment among the minors are now alarming especially among elementary students.  Recently, there was a report of a boy harassing two girls below 14 years of age in the Skyline Elementary School busin Oregon. This incidence happened in Portland, although the Portland Police Bureau has started investigation on it. Reacting to this, District spokesperson Matt Shelby said that a 7th grade male student inappropriately handled two 7th grade female students inside the school bus.

Many more of such ugly occurrences are being reported daily according to kgw.com. Sexual harassment comes in different forms among the pupils, it ranges from spanking, touching, pinching, to pressure for sex, asking for dates, and many more. Although girls are the most frequent victims of harassment, little of such case have been reported against boys also. This has been noticed to have adverse effect on these girls especially at school. They are usually haunted by the fear of the ugly incidence they have passed through. In a well study case, lack of commitment to school work has been noticed from some of the female victims; they find it difficult to perform their school works.

This unacceptable behaviour should be condemned in all ramifications. The evil effect should be conveyed to the students especially to the bulling boys. This is majorly the work of the school administrators; they should call for a sexual harassment policy which will see to this undisciplined attitude. Copies of the policy should be posted in schools and shared among both parents and student.  And clear distinction should be made and spelt out about the acceptable code of conduct among pupils. It is very important to be stated that it is the right of every students to learn in a harassment-free environment.

It is important to also state that the parents and guidance have their roles to playing in enmeshing these unpleasant attitudes to their children and wards. Good parental care is an effective measure to curb this especially parental care that deals with electronic gadgets. Often, these harassers learn most of their method from these modern technological advancement tools. They learn new technics of harassing every day especially on the internet; hence they would want to practise that on these innocent little damsels at school. At a glimpse of any such act, parents should make urgent report to the security agent to protect their daughters just as the parents of the harassed pupils of Skyline Elementary School did.

Also, towards an effective way of arresting this bane of the society, online class would go a long way. Solution often lies in the causative agent of a problem. if these kids learn bad attitudes from the internet, the girls could as well learn preventive measures against falling prey to the hands of this morally-decayed boys.

In recent times, sexual misconduct has been a great menace to the society. Hardly could you point to any quarter of the society but you will find various scenes of sexual harassment. It happens among the minors, teenagers, university students and full-fledged adult. Although, there is increase in reported cases of sexual abuse among the young; a reliable study on various sexual misconducts shows that incidents of sexual assault are more rampant among college and university students than any other group.

In recent university surveys according to Yale Daily News, one out of every four female students has reported that they had experienced incidents of sexual assault. Earlier this year in Yale University in New Haven Connecticut, various reports of such dastard acts were addressed by the school's police department and other committees were set up to such effect. However, this blog entry is to enlighten you on the topic and the possible ways to escape being a victim.

Firstly, sexual assault among college students generally occurs in two forms; rape and indecent assault and battery. Usually, the aim for sexual misconduct is to have canal knowledge of the victim, which in case of rape, the sexual intercourse is under compulsion. And when that could not be accomplished, it results in indecent assault and battery. Seldom it maybe, however, battery may not be accomplished with the intention of sex, but rather, an embarrassment to and molestation of the victim. Despite that rape and attempted rape are both punishable under the law, the occurrences are still alarming.

The leading causes of sexual assault are influence of drugs and alcohol and pornography sensations. Many of the reported sexual misconduct cases in which the victims know their assailants were said to be under the influence of drug or alcohol. Among other factors contributing to this is excessive exposure of sensational parts of the ladies' body which in turn leads to temptation for the males. Reacting to what they see, many men result to sexual assault.

When a problem and its source are identified, then it becomes easier to propose solution to it. Taking to this effect, many universities have set up various security committees saddled with cases relating to sexual misconduct among the students. Several cases have been reported and attended to, although various reviews are still underway. To ease the job of these committees, strict policies could be made against sexual abuses and copies of it shared among the students and posted around the campuses.

 However, the first and most effective way to arrest further occurrences, or at least to keep it to the minimal, is a general awareness campaign among the students against the act. The vulnerable students should be made familiar with various ways and tricks which the culprits use to get them trapped. When the students know the various ways that lead to assault, the problem becomes easier to be managed. And importantly, with the present advancement in technology especially in cyber-world, the awareness program could be effectively done online. Online awareness classes about ways of escaping sexual harassment are on-going and have been efficacious so far.

Whenever you hear the word ‘modelling’ what comes to your mind? A dirty industry full of sexual harassment and immoralities?  If this is your opinion about the industry, well, you are partially right. This is also the stand of Sara Ziff, a model in US. There is generally a prevalent doubt among aspiring young models and many people if many young models are victims of sexual harassment or not. More often than not, those who fall victims of this sexual harassment are innocent children who thought of catching fun in modelling. Cases of such ugly incidence are now on the increase as Ziff said, recounting his experience in the industry. Imagine a 16-year-old girl on her first modelling shoot in Paris being harassed! Sara Ziff herself also gave her ugly experience where she was made to snap naked on her first day of modelling in an interview with Jessica Bennett a senior writer and editor at Newsweek and The Daily Beast.

The The Global Post reports the modelling industry should be meant for artistic purposes in view to advertising a product. The industry could have been morally and economically propitious had certain measures been put in order. The essence of modelling should not be for sexual harassment as we witness today, however the intrusion of women hawkers have left a blemish on the industry.  Modelling industry should be a glamour and fashion field completely free of this menace. And in reality, the industry should be an open ground for both males and females in which each gender models for each other and not customised by females only which has greatly culminated into the increase in the immoralities. Funny enough, females now model virtually for everything, even things that deal exclusively with male.

The current trend in the industry indeed calls for urgent control measures. Public awareness on this evil menace will be helpful in this; an identified problem is a problem half-solved. It is to this effect that Sara Ziff, a model in US, from the various scenes she has witnessed in the industry, launched her non- profit group, Model Alliance. According to the model, this group is meant to propagate the need for security and protection for the models within the industry especially to the children. Also, in an interview with BBC NEWS, Ziff disclosed that she saw how the modelling industry breaks child labour law, lacks financial transparency and permits sexual misconduct among people within the industry.

In another development to protect the innocent models, a legal expert Susan Scafidi in an interview with the BBC NEWS, said that the workplace needs a strong backstage privacy policy which will arrest various reported cases in which models found their half-naked photos on different website on the internet. With all these outcries, there is still all hope that the industry may soon be sanctified and free from the hands of sex hawkers.

However, while these experts are busy with the legal way to restore morality and dignity back to the industry, there should exist an online avenue for awareness of the public especially the teenagers who are the most users of the internet. Children should be careful when thinking of being models especially not now that the coast is dark. Lastly, Sara Ziff was asked in an exclusive interview if she could allow her daughter to go into the industry, she said: “No! Especially with what is going on now”