Sexual harassment is the consuming subject at the moment in America, with aggrieved women popping up all over the place, and startling news about secret shananigans in Congress (about how the taxpayer has been paying for financial settlements, a lot of them concerning sexual harassment) hitting the news. But there is something happening that I really think unseemly: firms are buying sexual harassment insurance. The market is currently worth $2.2 billion a year, covering sexual harassment, racial discrimination and unfair dismissal. 42% of companies have some kind of insurance for these eventualities, most of them medium and larger companies. Firms with sales of $5 billion or more pay about $285,000 a year. (figures from the Washington Post)

The problem with all this is that insurance removes all incentive for companies to address the real problem – that they are employing sexist jerks. The insurance might protect executives from lawsuits and reputational damage, but the effect on morale must be dreadful. The worst outcome for the company is insisting on a confidentiality agreement in return for money. This is just an invitation for the same thing to happen again in companies run by men who create toxic and misogynistic atmospheres. Women employees are discouraged from speaking out, and there is an uncomfortable atmosphere of powerlessness, omerta and suspicion. Forget insurance. The shareholders should not have to pay for sexual deviation of their company’s executives and its costs.

The women (mostly women) tend to be young, maybe on their first jobs, and they know that, if you complain and are paid off you might get as much as two year’s salary, but have to sign a non-disclosure statement. The experience is traumatic, made worse by feeling you have to keep the incident secret – and could it be your fault? Those who go public are very courageous and deserve our support and praise.

This is all about childish power play. Nobody has suggested how many women have to leave their jobs because of predatory men. Even worse is the hypocrisy of the people who wear religion on their sleeves and either keep quiet or actually support religious figures (catholic and evangelicals) who interfere with young women and men.

Epicurus believed in moderation, but “moderation” doesn’t come into it when addressing sexual exploitation of young people from people in positions of power. He would have condemned it out of hand, as we should – and do.