'Ambient' sexual harassment at work: what France's top court clarified
Dirty jokes, sexist remarks or porn images at work can count as harassment even if you weren't the target. France's top court has just clarified the notion.
Dirty jokes, sexist remarks, obscene gestures, porn images passed around the office. Even if none of it is aimed at you, it can still count as sexual harassment in France.
A recent ruling by the Cour de cassation (France's top court for civil and criminal cases) clarifies what lawyers call "ambient" sexual harassment. The idea is simple: a person can be a victim of a hostile atmosphere without having been personally targeted.
The notion rests on existing law. A 2012 law defined sexual harassment in the Labour Code, including repeated comments or behaviour that create an intimidating, hostile or offensive situation. A 2018 law then widened the definition to cover concerted or successive acts by several people.
The ruling is already prompting companies to react. Behaviour once brushed off as "just office banter" is now clearly in the spotlight.
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