Russian Judge: 'If we had no sexual harassment we would have no children'

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For a long time, Russia has considered sexual harassment a part of life at the office, workplace and in universities. Throughout their history, there have been only two successful sexual harassment suits against male employers, according to the Telegraph (one in 1993 and one in 1997).

This time, an unnamed female executive from St. Petersburg had almost no chance of winning her case in the court, but she tried anyway. She alleged her boss locked her out of her office after she refused to have intimate relations with him.

She told the court:

"He always demanded that female workers signaled to him with their eyes that they desperately wanted to be laid on the boardroom table as soon as he gave the word…I didn't realize at first that he wasn't speaking metaphorically."

The judge hearing the case ruled in favor of her boss. He said her employer acted gallantly rather than criminally. He gave the following ruling:

"If we had no sexual harassment we would have no children."

A recent survey in Russia gave alarming results; 100 per cent of female professionals have been subject to sexual harassment by their bosses. About 32 per cent had sexual intercourse with their bosses and 7 per cent claim they were raped. Also, 80 per cent of female professionals believed they had no chance of getting a promotion without having sex with their bosses.

Russian women also feel similar pressure in job interviews and at universities, where they need to have sex with their professors to get high marks.

Human rights activists feel that Russian women are treated like second-class citizens and face the highest levels of domestic abuse in the world.