Phew!
Take a breather.
I know that was a mouthful.
Basically, all you need to know,
is that maltreatment can occur in the workplace setting,
when the one in charge
makes a military member’s job a lot harder,
because of a sexual harassment or sex-related offense.
Still a little fuzzy?
Here is an example to clear it up.
Maltreatment can take many forms.
Several key words used to define maltreatment are:
Cruel or oppressive behaviors,
and subject to a person’s orders.
If you see a situation,
and it seems that a person of authority is,
“trying to get back at someone”
for something an individual did,
or for what they perceive an individual might do,
and it involves a sex-related offense
or sexual harassment,
there is probably a problem.
If you, as a “reasonable person,”
feels that a behavior meets one of those requirements,
or that it maltreats someone…
it probably meets the definition,
and it should be stopped or reported.
As you can see,
maltreatment can occur very easily,
and be very damaging to a working environment.
If left unchecked,
Maltreatment can cause decreased productivity,
reduces positive public image,
erodes unit cohesion,
leads to a lack of commitment,
increase absenteeism,
negative psychological effects on the victim,
as well as many more.
No need to fret though,
There are strategies to prevent and tackle these issues head on.
It doesn’t matter,
if the target was the victim of sexual harassment,
they reported it...
or even just intervened…
it’s all bad.
Or..
I guess Mal?
If you or someone you know,
is the victim of Maltreatment,
reach out and speak up.
For resources and information,
please visit defenseculture.mil.