Letter: A serious problem clouded by terms of endearment

THE HEADLINE to your article on sexual harassment at work was very contentious. 'Half of all working women harassed' (25 July) appears, at first, to be a very disturbing figure.

However, when the 54 per cent includes women who have been called 'dear, love, girl, etc' it makes a mockery of the real problems of sexual harassment: assault, attempted assault and career moves blocked.

Was the list headed 'Is this Sexual Harassment?' the form of the questions asked, or were they answers given by people questioned, or was Barrie Clement just asking the questions himself?

Unfortunately, the seriousness of such a report is bound to be questioned when inviting a female colleague out for a drink and complimenting a woman are considered to be sexual harassment]

It also plants in the conscious, or sub-conscious, of a male manager who does not want to employ a woman, a valid (in his mind) reason not to. After all, if anyone asks her out she might take out a complaint.

Jane Crossen

Knutsford, Cheshire