Il concetto di molestia sessuale in Nord America ed Europa. Gli approcci teorici e il dibattito femminista

Abstract

The concept of sexual harassment originated in North America in the 1970s thanks to the feminist movement, which focused the attention on the abuses that women suffer from men in the workplace. The notion soon became part of the North American public and legal discourse and spread to Europe, where the interpretation of the phenomenon differs depending on the national context. This article traces the evolution of the concept of sexual harassment in the workplace through the analysis of the theoretical interpretations and the feminist debate on the subject. The literature suggests that the different approaches to sexual harassment in North America and Europe depend on historical and political factors that have influenced the national legislations’ development. Moreover, the feminist debate criticises punitive approaches that ignore the systemic dimension of the phenomenon.