La molestia di genere come forma di discriminazione sul luogo di lavoro. Prospettive Europee

Women are the main target of harmful, degrading, and hostile conduct, especially within working environments. This led many experts to investigate this tendency, leading to the formulation of so-called sex-based harassment. Indeed, this latter is a form of gender-based discrimination perpetrated against women on the sole basis of their sex, reflecting old gender stereotypes and conceptions that relegate them to secondary working positions. Interestingly, sex-based harassment has been regarded as secondary discrimination, especially when compared with sexual harassment. Indeed, the latter has been always considered the most relevant form of sex-based discrimination, due to its sexual nature and the physical conduct usually associated with it. However, in the past two decades, more attention has been devoted to the widespread phenomenon of gender-based harassment, emphasizing its relevance and the impact that such behavior has on victims. In this respect, international but also regional, and national legislators, adopted ad-hoc legislation and Acts dealing precisely with this subtle and common form of discrimination based on sex. Thus, the following chapters of this thesis will focus on the long process of recognition that brought sex-based harassment from holding the status of ‘secondary’ discrimination to being considered as relevant discrimination against women; in this regard, specific attention will be paid to the American doctrine and the EU approach to discrimination. Furthermore, specific attention will be also devoted to the prohibition of harassment at both international and regional levels, focusing precisely on the legislation enacted by the United Nations, the International Labour Organization, and finally, by the Council of Europe and the European Union. In this respect, a specific section will also deal with soft-law instruments adopted by the European Union to contrast and prevent gender-based harassment in both workplaces and Institutions. Finally, the last chapter will analyze the national legislation adopted by three specific States, namely, Sweden, France, and Belgium to contrast the widespread phenomenon of gender-based harassment, focusing precisely on the perpetration of such harmful conduct within working environments.