Comparative Analysis to Harassment Jurisprudence

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K01337
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 05040:Social law-related
• Research Institution: Sophia University
• Principal Investigator: TOMINAGA Koichi 上智大学, 法学部, 教授 (30436498)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: セクハラ / パワハラ / 性差別 / 雇用平等

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Sexual Harassment (SH) is a type of sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and is determined by whether the speech or behavior in question is sexually discriminatory. In contrast, Article 11 of the Equal Opportunity Law of Japanese law regulates "sexual speech" (which is interpreted as "speech or behavior based on sexual interest"), and thus excludes sexist speech and behavior (or "gender harassment" under the law) that is not based on sexual interest (although it is possible to be held liable in civil cases). The SH concept under Japanese law focuses on "regulating sexual behavior that is not in line with socially accepted norms," and does not prohibit sex discrimination, so it is difficult to get into the indirect discriminatory aspect of Japanese employment practices. In addition, while the socially accepted standards allow for flexible judgments, they do not necessarily provide a high degree of legal stability.

Free Research Field

社会法学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

1997年の日本の雇用機会均等法改正により同法上に規定されたセクシュアル・ハラスメント概念は、その時点までのアメリカ法の議論の影響を強く受けている。しかしアメリカの判例法理が1998年のOncale事件以降、SHを「性的言動」でなく「性差別的言動」として捉える方向に変化したのに対し、均等法は立法当時のまま「性的な言動」を要件上は維持し、「不快性」に重点を置く判断枠組みであり、個々人の感受性や価値観が多様化して実態が希薄化している社会通念により判断が左右され、安定的とは言い難い。これら均等法上のSH概念の射程の限定性の修正・明確化の実現は、職場における紛争予防への意義が大きい。