Send sexual SMS to a person who has not consented to this game, a type of sexual harassment ignored

Via social networks or from the telephone company directly, some use the call, others, text messages. In young people, in telephone conversations, the series of messages is often used to communicate, which sometimes brings to the recipient’s dignity when it is of a sexual connotation and comes without his consent.

Today, information and communication technologies are in the spotlight. The mobile phone, an object of technological prestige and curiosity in its infancy, finally becomes a commodity. Some use it wisely, others abuse it. With this excessive abuse, there is a rapid trivialization of conversations.

Sandia is a student in spatial planning at the State University of Haiti (UEH) said victim of this practice. « There are often messages from known or unknown numbers that always have sexual overtones without my consent. By answering these types of messages, I always try to bring the person back to order. If it persists, the best solution is to block it », she says.

Sexual harassment occurs when a person is repeatedly subjected to sexual remarks or behavior that offends his or her dignity because of their degrading or humiliating character. « Once the person continues with his advances through messages against my will, I do not feel comfortable, » said Yasmida who is a victim. « It’s offensive and disruptive behavior, generating a sense of anxiety and unease », she says.
« When I have a type of harassment of this kind, I ask myself this question: » Who does this person take me for? « She asks. My reaction is to speak to her for the first time in order to reprimand her and if this person persists, the best solution is to ignore his next messages », says the girl.

Current central criterion for sexuality not socially problematic

According to Gerald Lebrun, student in psychology, to talk about sexuality non-problematic, there must be consent, that is to say, to give primacy to the acceptance or refusal of the individual to engage in this activity.This current model refers to that Michel Foucault calls « the device of sexuality » according to which the agreement of the partner is required, the override makes sexual intercourse illegitimate.The consequences are also that sexuality has become a private affair, individualized and susceptible of social sanction s there are no res pect or non-consent.

What does Haitian law say about harassment?

For Mr. Givelt Vilmeus, sexual harassment is not mentioned in the Haitian Penal Code. What underlies the fact that in the current state of our criminal law, there is no text that defines this phenomenon subject to penal sanctions in other legal systems. « It is an infringement of the right to the physical or moral integrity of the human person. It is a form of sexual assault, « says Mr. Givelt that specifies that there is in the Haitian penal code a section devoted to the study of sexual assaults even if no definition is provided, much less an enumeration different cases that are taken as such. We want to talk about articles 278 and following of the code cited above modified by the decree of July 6, 2005.

Moreover, according to Mr. Givelt, if we make a doctrinal consideration, we will see that the sexual assaults are divided into two categories:-the violent sexual assault that includes rape;-those without violence such as sexual exhibition, indecent assault, sexual harassment that can be committed even by electronic means. « If it were allowed to reason by analogy in law, one could say that because sexual harassment is punishable under the aforementioned articles that are the penalty of 10 years of hard labor at least ». But in this case, we would be faced with a sanction that is far too severe insofar as the offense is classified as a crime in other legal systems.

Pity! The Haitian legislator must, without any form of trial, take his responsibility to update the body of law in this area since the phenomenon is very common in all levels of society. In this context, the legislator must define all offenses, each by its constituent elements. And judges will have easily said the right when it comes to dealing with cases of sexual harassment.