Dear Sir,

Andrew Simons should be commended for speaking out in your newspaper about sexual harassment. It isn’t very often that a man bothers to think about this particular form of abuse against women.

Sexual harassment has been going on for years and he deserves accolades for his public statements and maybe causing some men to rethink their behaviour.

Women are the majority of the victims of sexual harassment, although there are some cases where men have been harassed as well.

Speak out, ladies. Report the harassers. Be strong. There is protection within the Human Rights Act. We have to put a halt to this unacceptable behaviour.

To be clear, sexual harassment is defined as “deliberate or persistent unsolicited comments, gestures or physical contact of a sexual nature that is unwelcome by the recipient”.

How can women get ahead in the workplace when this kind of behaviour continues, as it has devastating affects by destroying a victim’s confidence and belief in the right to say “no”.

It also diminishes a victim’s efficiency as she tries to plan her work day and everyday life to avoid the harasser, who is usually in a dominant position of power.

This also causes stress and the workplace may become a hostile work environment for those victims.

Speak out, ladies. It’s up to us.

KIM YOUNG