Gratuitous confusion about what constitutes sexual harassment has frightened some people away from discussing a crucial issue of today's political and workplace environments. When one understands what sexual harassment is, much of the confusion surrounding the issue quickly dissipates. Sexual harassment involves unwanted sexual comments or touches, but there are specific ways that a person can direct an intentionally sexual comment at someone else without any knowledge of the recipient's attitude at that point without harassing them (sexual contact of a physical kind requires prior consent, but comments do not). An example can illustrate the point with great clarity.
Because people are often too fallacious to use such an example on their own, I will reverse the often-assumed roles of the genders in this hypothetical scenario. Suppose a woman approaches me and sexually flirts with me. If I do not reciprocate and I tell her I am not interested, she has done nothing sinful [1]--unless she persists after I have already rejected her advances. If she continues to make unwelcome comments or advances to me, then she is guilty of sexual harassment. Otherwise, she is not.
Unless a person is a telepath, he or she has to verbally or nonverbally signal that he or she is sexually interested in a person in some way. Without this communication, and without a response, one could never know if even one's own spouse reciprocates sexual interest. Clear communication from both parties (which can include nonverbal communication, like body language and other sounds) is key to avoiding sexual harassment, since whether or not something is sexual harassment depends entirely on the recipient's attitude towards a comment, touch, or other behavior.
It also needs to be clarified that simple sexual harassment is not rape, though rape can be rightly considered the utmost manifestation of sexual harassment. To use a Biblical example, Potiphar's wife sexually harassed Joseph on a consistent basis (Genesis 37), but she did not actually rape him, though she seemingly attempted to before Joseph fled from her. Rape is nonconsensual sex. Since sexual harassment includes unwanted sexualized comments, touches, or attitudes, it does not have to go all the way to actual rape. Though it is not as severe as nonconsensual sexual intercourse, sexual harassment is still a heinous degradation of the victim.
Since people continue to fret about the possibility of false accusations of sexual harassment, a reminder of the Biblically prescribed penalty for criminal slander is relevant: Deuteronomy 19:16-21 demands that a person who intentionally brings a false charge against someone else receive the same penalty the Bible prescribes for that crime. If there is a false accusation of rape, then the accuser deserves death (Deuteronomy 22:25-27 [2]; in cases of accusations of lesser sexual harassment, fines (Exodus 21:18-19) or lashes (Deuteronomy 25:1-3) would be the just penalty, for those are the prescribed punishments for comparatively minor assaults or for miscellaneous crimes.
For various reasons, all of them pertaining to unintelligence, cognitive dissonance, or erroneous worldview narratives, some people who identify as Christians have responded to the public outcry against general sexual harassment in damaging ways. Some might deny the severity of sexual harassment, while others pretend like legalistic, contra-Biblical ideas about gender segregation or clothing will prevent it. The only Biblical response is to rightly identify what constitutes sexual harassment and combat it without legalism or succumbing to irrational hysteria. After all, Christians should be the first to fiercely condemn predatory sexual behaviors.
[1]. The Bible never condemns either flirtation or sexual attraction, irrespective of the marital status of any party involved:
https://thechristianrationalist.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-morality-of-flirting.html
[2]. https://thechristianrationalist.blogspot.com/2018/06/misunderstanding-bible-on-rape.html
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